HIGH SCHOOL 
ORGANIZATION 

FRANK WBALLOU 





SCHOOL EFFICIENCY SERIES 

PAUL H.HANUS ' " -' :^;:^: .-^ 




Class ___L*_& 

Book .Ba. 

Copyright "N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSITi 



,0^ 



/ 



= ' I '^HE School Efficiency Series comprises about ^ 

I X twelve volumes by as many educational experts | 

I on Elementary School and Kindergarten, High School, I 

I and Vocational Instruction, Courses of Study, Organ- | 

I ization, Management and Supervision. The series con- I 

I sists of monographs based on the report of Professor | 

I Hanus and his associates on the schools of New York | 

I City, but the controlling ideas are applicable as well in | 

I one public school system as in another. | 

I Among the authors contributing to these volumes | 

I are Professor Paul H. Hanus, Professor of Education, I 

I Harvard University, who is also general editor of the I 

I series; Dr. Frank P. Bachman, formerly Assistant | 

I Superintendent of Schools, Cleveland; Dr. Edward C. | 

I Elliott, Director of the School of Education, University | 

I of Wisconsin; Dr. Herman Schneider, Dean of the | 

I College of Engineering, University of Cincinnati; Mr. | 

I Frank W. Ballou, Joseph Lee Fellow for Research in i 

I Education, Harvard University (formerly Assistant | 

I Professor of Education, University of Cincinnati); | 

I Dr. Calvin O. Davis, Assistant Professor of Education, | 

I University of Michigan; Dr. Frank V. Thompson, | 

I Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Boston; Dr. | 

I Henry H. Goddard, Director Department of Psycho- j 

I logical Research, New Jersey Training School for j 

I Feeble-Minded Boys and Girls; Mr. Stuart A. Courtis, | 

I Head of Department of Science and Mathematics, 1 

I Detroit Home and Day School (Liggett School), i 

I Detroit; Dr. Frank M. McMurry, Professor of Elemen- | 

I tary Education, Teachers College, Columbia University ; | 

I Dr. Ernest C. Moore, Professor of Education, Harvard | 

I University (formerly of Yale University). | 

iiiiuiiinNnulumimUNiiiiijiiiiuaiiiiiii i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiniiniiiiuniiiiuiiii iii i iiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiii miijiiiiinimiiiiiuiiiiimiuiiiuniiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiii iiniiuuijrirmi^ 



SCHOOL EFFICIENCY SERIES 



High School Organization 



SCHOOL EFFICIENCY SERIES 

Edited by Paul H. Hanus 



High School Organization 

A constructive study applied to 
New York City 



By FRANK W> BALLOU 



Director of Promotion and Educational Measurement, Boston Public Schools; 

Joseph Lee Fellow for Research in Education, Harvard University; 

Formerly Assistant Professor of Education, 

Unxveesiiy or Cincinnati 




YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK 

WORLD BOOK COMPANY 

1914 



V 



%>■'' 
^"^v 



Copyright, IQ14, hy World Book Company. 
All rights reserved. 

SES: BHSO — I 



AUG -6 1315 

©C1,A379040 



EDITOR'S PREFACE 

EVERY city high school ought to be so organized and 
administered as to enable its teachers and pupils to do 
their work under as favorable conditions as can be devised 
by thoughtful administrative and supervisory officers; and 
at the same time as economically as such conditions permit. 
In our large cities the problems thus presented by the or- 
ganization and administration of the high schools require 
the constant attention of the supervisory sta^ff — principals, 
heads of departments, and superintendents — and careful 
consideration of the progressive solution of these problems 
which the staff work out by the Board of Education and the 
financial authorities. 

This volume contains Mr. Ballou's studies of certain 
problems of organization and administration presented by 
the high schools of New York City. With some omissions, 
plainly indicated in the text, the volume consists of Mr. 
Ballou's contribution to the Report submitted by me to the 
Committee on School Inquiry of the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment of the City of New York. What is omitted 
includes only such matters as are of purely local importance ; 
for example, the details involved in solving the problem 
of estimating the number of teachers needed in the enor- 
mous high schools of New York City are peculiar to those 
schools. No other city in the country presents so huge an 
aggregation of pupils in single schools, or so complicated 
an organization of its high school forces. Accordingly 
the details of the treatment of this problem are omitted 
from Mr. Ballou's report as republished in this volume. 
But all that is essential to an understanding of the method 
to be employed in estimating the number of teachers needed 

vii 



viii Editor's Preface 

for any large high school or system of high schools has 
been retained. 

No attempt has been made in this volume to cover the 
whole field of the organization and administration of city 
high schools. It is restricted to the problems of organiza- 
tion and administration within the field of administrative 
control as exercised by the Board of Education and the 
supervisory staff. 

Although restricted to this field, Mr. Ballou's report is 
comprehensive, and in its present form is offered to ad- 
ministrative officers outside of, as well as within, New 
York City, as a contribution to a method of studying certain 
important problems of organization and administration that 
must be dealt with by the supervisory staff and Board of 
Education in all city school systems. 

Paul H. Hanus. 
Harvard University. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE 

MY "Report on Problems in the Organization and Ad- 
ministration of the High Schools," in New York 
City, consisted of five monographs, as follows : 

I. The Size of Sections (Classes). 
II. The Work of Chairmen of Departments. 

III. The Work of Other Teachers. 

IV. Administrative Control of the High Schools as It 

Affects Internal Organization. 

V. Estimating the Need of High School Teachers. 

Each of the first four monographs deals wholly or in 
part with a high school problem, or problems, of universal 
educational interest. Hence, each monograph has been re- 
produced in this book with such revisions as have seemed 
necessary or desirable with a view to their general interest 
and application. Statistical tables have been retained in 
order to furnish the facts on which the discussions are 
based, but the graphs based on those tables have been 
omitted. 

However, no details which are necessary either to justify 
the conclusions reached or to show the method of reaching 
them have been omitted. The complete report as finally 
prepared and submitted is contained in the "Interim Re- 
port" submitted by the Committee on School Inquiry to the 

ix 



X Author's Preface 

Board of Estimate and Apportionment on February 15, 

1913. 

The study of "The Size of Sections" was undertaken as 
the result of a question asked by President Mitchel in a 
letter dated June 14, 191 1 : "What is the largest practical 
size for a class in the high schools?" The purpose of this 
study was to show what is actually the size of sections in 
the high schools of New York City; to compare the size 
as found with the standard or standards established by the 
Board of Superintendents; to suggest, in view of existing 
conditions, what the standard size of section should be; and 
to obtain the information necessary for estimating the num- 
ber of teachers needed in the high schools. 

To organize and maintain school sections of a satisfac- 
tory size is both an educational and a financial problem. 
Every high school teacher and every educational adminis- 
trator, whether principal, superintendent, or member of a 
Board of Education, as well as every city official having to 
do with educational finances, is concerned with the number 
of pupils that should constitute a class. In view of the 
universal interest and importance of this problem, there- 
fore, the monograph on "The Size of Sections" is included 
in this book. 

The studies of "The Work of Chairmen of Departments" 
and of "The Work of Other Teachers" were undertaken to 
find out whether the number of teachers employed in the 
high schools of New York City was actually proportion- 
ate to their needs. To determine this involved an examina- 
tion of the amount of work the teachers were doing; a 
critical consideration of the nature and character of such 
work, in order to determine whether it was legitimate work 
for teachers; a comparison of the amount of work assigned 
to teachers with the standard amount fixed by the Board 
of Superintendents; and the passing of judgment on the 
wisdom of that standard. 

Since the high schools in all our large cities have enough 
teachers in the several departments to require chairmen of 



Author's Preface xi 

departments in their organization, it is believed that the 
facts brought out in these two monographs and the methods 
of investigation employed justify including them both in 
this book, though with certain slight modifications. 

The study of "The Administrative Control of the High 
Schools as It Affects Internal Organization" was made 
for the purpose of showing on whom the responsibility rests 
for the conditions found in the high schools. The study 
of the size of sections showed, among other things, that 
there were large and small sections which did not conform 
even approximately to the standard size fixed by the Board 
of Superintendents. Similarly, the study of the work of 
chairmen of departments showed that the amount of teach- 
ing assigned to them was far in excess of the standards 
fixed by the Board of Superintendents. It was the purpose 
of this study of "Administrative Control" to fix as far as 
possible on the proper officials the responsibility for these 
unsatisfactory conditions. Inasmuch as the administrative 
problems treated in this monograph are common to all high 
schools, whether large or small, and urban or rural, the 
monograph is included in this book. 

Since the fifth monograph deals with a problem peculiar 
to the City of New York, only a resume of it is presented, 
showing briefly the importance of the problem to New 
York, the scope and methods of the investigation, and the 
general conclusions reached. 

An account is given of the way in which New York City 
estimates, for budget purposes, the number of teachers 
needed in the high schools during the eighteen months sub- 
sequent to the time of making the school budget. The 
methods of preparing school budgets in various cities dif- 
fer greatly, l3ut the magnitude and complexity of the prob- 
lem of estimating the need of high school teachers in the 
City of New York are peculiar to that city. Hence the de- 
tails of dealing with that problem, as presented in the origi- 
nal monograph, are not included in this book. 

In revising the five monographs for this book it has 



xii Author's Preface 

seemed convenient to divide them into chapters and, in ad- 
dition, to collect in one final chapter the summaries of find- 
ings and recommendations which originally followed the 
discussions in each monograph. These summaries (of find- 
ings and recommendations) have accordingly been collected 
into Chapter XX, where, to facilitate reference to them, 
they will be found arranged by topics. 

Frank W. Ballou. 

Harvard University. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Editor's Preface vii 

Author's Preface ix 



THE SIZE OF SECTIONS (CLASSES) IN 
THE HIGH SCHOOLS 

Chapter 

I. The Plan of Administration i 

n. Present Size of Sections 4 

III. The Size of Sections Compared with the Estab- 

lished Standards g 

IV. Who Is Responsible for the Size of Sections 

Found? 15 



V. The Proposed Standard Size of Sections 



THE WORK OF CHAIRMEN OF DEPARTMENTS 



31 



VI. Classification of Teachers 37 

VII. The Work of Chairmen as Teachers 42 

VEIL The Work of Chairmen as Administrative Offi- 
cers 54 

THE WORK OF OTHER TEACHERS 

IX. Periods of Teaching and Study Hall Supervi- 
sion 67 

X. Other Duties Assigned to Teachers 80 

xiii 



xiv Contents 

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS, 
AS IT AFFECTS INTERNAL ORGANIZATION 

Chapter Page 

XL Who Is Responsible for the Internal Organi- 
zation OF THE High Schools? 93 

XII. The Principal and the Daily Program ... 95 

XIII. The Department of Education and the Pro- 

gram OF Studies 100 

XIV. The Department of Education and the Size of 

High Schools 107 

XV. The Department of Education and the Size 

AND Number of Classrooms 127 

XVI. The Department of Education and the Num- 
ber OF Teachers Employed 131 



ESTIMATING THE NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOL 
TEACHERS NEEDED— A RESUME 

XVII. The Importance of the Problem in the City of 

New York 143 

XVIII. The Scope and Methods of the Investigation 148 

XIX. General Conclusions on the Use of the New 

Blank 151 

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

BY TOPICS 

XX. Summary of Findings and Recommendations 

BY Topics 159 

Index 175 



The Size of Sections (Classes) in the 
High Schools 



STUDIES IN HIGH SCHOOL 
ORGANIZATION 

CHAPTER I 
THE PLAN OF ADMINISTRATION 

A COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF SUPERINTENDENTS 

THE high school system of New York City is under the 
direction of one of the Associate City Superinten- 
dents, who is chairman of the Committee on High Schools 
of the Board of Superintendents. A district superintendent 
is also assigned to the high schools, so that the twenty high 
schools and twenty-one annexes in New York City are 
under the supervision and direction of these two officials. 
All matters pertaining to the high schools, such as courses 
of study and the appointment and transfer of high school 
teachers, reach the Board of Superintendents through the 
Committee on High Schools. On the other hand, matters 
directly presented to the Board of Superintendents are 
referred to this committee for reports and recommenda- 
tions. 

Naturally, the general administration of the high schools 
by this committee bears a direct relation to the detailed or- 
ganization of each school. In addition to directing the mat- 
ters already referred to, the Associate City Superintendent 
in charge of high schools fixes the standard size of recita- 
tion sections and the standard number of periods of teaching 
per week, according to which the principals of the high 
schools are expected to organize their schools. 

I 



2 Studies in High School Organization 

THE PRINCIPALS AS EXECUTIVE HEADS 

The principals of the high schools are, by the by-laws 
of the Board of Education, the executive heads of their 
respective schools and are directed to organize and ad- 
minister them under the direction of the Board of Super- 
intendents. A principal's activities are thus limited to the 
details of organization, administration, and supervision 
within his school. Thus the merit system of appointing 
teachers,^ as it exists in New York City, gives the prin- 
cipal no part in the selection or appointment of teachers; 
he has to take the first teacher on. the list of eligible can- 
didates. The amount of teaching which a first assistant, 
or a teacher in a given department, shall do after appoint- 
ment is determined by the standards fixed by the Board of 
Superintendents. The size of recitation sections in the 
various terms is determined by the Board of Superintend- 
ents. The course of study and S54ifebi are prepared and 
time allotments fixed by the Board of Superintendents, with 
such assistance as the board sees fit to invite, there being 
no regular channel through which views of the teachers and 
principals ^r-each the Board of Superintendents. Supplies 
and text-books are ordered by the principal, but from a list 
approved by the Board of Superintendents. The principal 
is expected to make the best possible use of the facilities 
at his disposal, to carry out the prescribed course of study, 
and, in general, to organize his school in accordance with 
the regulations of the Board of Superintendents as nearly 
as conditions will permit. 

THE FIRST ASSISTANTS 

The principals of the high schools may be assisted in the 
administration of their respective schools by teachers hav- 

^The Charter provides (Section 1091, Title I, Chapter XVIII) that 
a teacher nominated by the Board of Superintendents shall be from 
among the first three on a list of eligible candidates. In actual prac- 
tice, the Board of Education practically requires (Section 40, Para- 
graph 9) that the first person on the list be nominated. 



The Plan of Administration 3 

ing the rank of first assistants. A first assistant is made 
chairman of a department of study wherever possible, and, 
as such, is charged with the general direction of the work 
of the department. In addition, the first assistant is a gen- 
eral administrative ofiicer under the direction of the prin- 
cipal. According to the by-laws of the Board of Education, 
principals may also, with the approval of the City Super- 
intendent of Schools, assign administrative work to teachers. 



CHAPTER II 
PRESENT SIZE OF SECTIONS 

THE IMPORTANCE OF SIZE OF SECTIONS . 

AMONG the matters pertaining to the internal organiza- 
tion of the high schools, the size of sections and the 
work of teachers are of fundamental importance. The 
size of sections is important educationally because the size 
of section affects the character of the instruction. If the 
section is too large, the teacher cannot give the essential 
individual attention to each member of the class. If the 
section is too small, the pupils lose the important results 
accruing from an association with other pupils solving com- 
mon problems. The size of sections is important economi- 
cally because fewer teachers will be required if pupils are 
distributed in sections of forty pupils than if distributed in 
sections of thirty pupils. If the sections are large, the 
number of sections to be taught will be smaller; hence, 
fewer teachers would apparently be needed. If the sections 
are small, the number of sections to be taught will be larger, 
resulting in the apparent need of a larger number of teach- 
ers. It is obvious that the size of sections and the amount 
of teaching to be done are not only of fundamental impor- 
tance, but are inseparably connected. 

WHAT CONSTITUTES EFFECTIVE HIGH SCHOOL 
ORGANIZATION ? 

If the high schools were most effectively organized as to 
sections, all sections would be approximately of satisfactory 
size for doing effective work. If the sections in the various 

4 



SECTIONS OF EACH SIZE 
45 4O 47 4^ 4Q 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 5^ 59 ^^ 61 62 63 64 65 



I 

3 • 2 2 

4 « 

I a 



f I I I ! I 

I 
I 



5 10 4 32113221 



rwo sections with 7 pupils each 



High Schools 


No. 
Section 


10 


DeWitt Clinton 


35 




High Schoo) of Commerce 


34 




Stuyvesant 


46 




Wadleigh 


24 


1 


Washington Irving 


72 




Morris 


54 




Girls' 


40 


2 


Boys' 


30 


I 


Erasmus Hall 


27 




Manual Training 


64 




Commercial 


55 




Eastern District 


47 




Bushwick 


20 




Bryant 


15 


*• 


Newtown 


IS 




Flushing 


14 


2 


Far Rockaway 


6 


1? 


Jamaica 


18 




Richmond Hill 


22 


3? 


Curtis 


18 


t!" 




656 


12 



TABLE I-TABLE TO SHOW THE SIZE OF SECTIONS IN GERMAN AND THE NUiMBER OF SECTIONS OF EACH SIZE 

Size of Sections 
12 13 14 15 t6 17 .8 rg 20 21 22 23 24 2^ 26 27 



29 30 31 3? 33 



I I I 

■ 3 21 

'21 I34221184 



.'223 31 

I 2 



34 35 iA 57 !8 5Q 40 4> 42 43 44 45 46 47 4^ 4q 5° 5' 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 



4253211 



I 2 

2 I 



1 I 

2 I 

3 

I 2 
I I 



'2 II 

' 3 17 13 
' ' 3 ' ' 3213 

III 43222123212 



I I 



■ ■ I ' I 5 3 5 
12 21122 

211 222 



' A 5 J ft 4 4 3 3 J I 

2 3 n 7 155 ' 2 



5 3 3 ' I 3 2 3 2 
I 2 I 4 2 I 4 2 2 2 

I 2 2 



5'3444M2 510333 I 221 
' I 2 3 3 2 2 I 4] I 4 5 7 5 2 I I 
I 31. 4I2I4|36324[2I2 

' I ' II I I I I 2 [ I I 

r I 2 1 

3 



3 2 6 7 5 6 9 13 12 6 9 7 16 27 2S 24 30 23 3& 29 28 },2 37 35 ii 27 28 31 23 14 




i' = One section with 6 pupils r^ = One section with 5 pupils y? = Two sections with 7 pupils each ^ = Two sections with 7 pupils each 



Present Sise of Sections 5 

high schools were organized according to a given standard, 
a typical study of that organization ought to show that the 
sections in a school or in a given term group themselves 
around that standard. For example: If the standard size 
of section is thirty pupils/ and if there are pupils enough 
for two or more sections, the actual size of the sections in 
a given term could reasonably be expected to vary, in prac- 
tice, from possibly twenty-eight to thirty-three or thirty-five 
pupils. German and mathematics have been selected as 
typical subjects for our study because they are found in 
all the high schools, and are offered under as uniform con- 
ditions as to time allotments as are any subjects. 

THE SIZE OF SECTIONS IN GERMAN AND MATHEMATICS IN 
THE CITY AS A WHOLE TYPICAL STUDY^ 

Table I shows the size of sections in German in the high 
schools of New York City, and the number of sections of 
each size, in the February-June term, 191 1. 

Table II shows the size of sections in mathematics^ in the 
high schools of New York City, and the number of sections 
of each size, in the February-June term, 191 1. 

The number of sections in German in each school is given 
in the first column after the name of the school. At the 
top of the table is a scale from "10" to "65," representing 
the size of sections. In the vertical column, under each 
number in the scale, is given the number of sections of that 
size in the various high schools. At the foot of the table 
are the totals for the city. 

The heavy line drawn through the table from top to 
bottom divides the number of sections in each school and 

*We shall here accept the standard of thirty pupils per section, and 
leave the discussion and defense of this standard to a later part of this 
report. 

^ Typical as to method of treatment and kind of study which should 
regularly be made. 

■The discussion of the size of sections will be confined to German; 
the mathematics table, which is here introduced, shows the same facts 
and points to the same general conclusions. 



6 Studies in High School Organisation 

the total for the city into two approximately ^ equal parts. 
For example: The line drawn so as to divide the total 
number of sections in German in the New York City high 
schools into two approximately equal parts, if extended, 
would cross the scale at the top of the table between "31" 
and "32." This shows, therefore, that there are m New 
York City as many sections with thirty-two or more pupils 
as there are with less than thirty-two pupils. The line is so 
drawn though the table as to show the same facts for each 
school as are shown for the city as a whole. 

The table shows (i) that there are small sections m 
every high school; (2) that there are large sections in 
every high school; (3) that there is great variation in the 
size of sections among the different high schools; (4) that 
the size of sections for the city as a whole does not suffi- 
ciently approximate to a standard; and (5) that the size of 
sections in individual schools does not sufficiently approxi- 
mate to the established standards. 

Small Sections in Every High School 
All high schools have sections with twenty-five pupils or 
less • all high schools, except Newtown, have sections with 
twenty pupils or less; all high schools, except Newtown 

1 "Approximately," because it is exact only in case it happens to be 
possible to divide the number of sections in each school mto two equal 
parts and also in case the number of sections either side of the point 
where the line will cross is "i." For example: There are thirty-five 
sections in DeWitt Clinton High School, one half of which is seven- 
teen and one half. To divide the series of numbers referring to 
DeWitt Clinton into two equal parts would necessitate dividing the 
one section in column "34" into halves. Further m the case of 
Morris High School, there are fifty-four sections in Gernnan, of which 
twenty-seven is one half. To divide the series of numbers into two 
equal parts would mean that the number ''4" ""Jer the s^^e of section 
"S' would have to be divided into "i" and "3," the 'i ' of which would 
be counted with the numbers at the left, and the ' 3 ' of which would 
be counted with the numbers at the right. To obviate these two diffi- 
culties, the line has been drawnin every case either where it exactly 
divided the number of sections into two equal parts or at the lett ot 
the number which would have to be divided to make an equal division. 



OF SECTIONS OF EACH SIZE 

45 46 47 48 49 50 5» 52 53 54 55 5^ 57 5^ 59 60 6i 62 63 64 65 



3 J 



1 1 1 I I III 

23 III 2 
2 I I 2 

2 1 
I 

I I I 

I 
I I 
I 

I I 



II 12 232413321 



ns with 6 pupils, x* = i section with 2 pupils. 



High Schools 

DeWitt Clinton 

High School of Commerce 

Stujrvesant 

Wadleigh 

Washington Irving 

Morris 

Girls' High 

Boys' High 

Erasmus Hall 

Manual Training 

Commercial 

Eastern District 

Bushwick 

Bryant 

Nevrtown 

Flushing 

Far Rockaway 

Jamaica 

Richmond Hill 

Curtis 



20 



TABLE II-TABLE TO SHOW THE SIZE OF SECTIONS IN MATHEMATICS AND THE NUMBER OF SECTIONS OF EACH SIZE 

Size of Sections 

4Q 5° 51 52 53 54 5S 56 57 58 59 60 6i 62 63 64 65 



tV I I I 



x'x'\ 2 I 
x'x* 



25 

944 I 19 3 2 



I I 



2 I 




4 


3 


4 


5 


6 


3 


sh 4 


9 


6 


10 


2 


I 


5 


3 ' 


I 


4 


2 

3 


4 


I 
4 


4 


2 


I 
3 


1 4 


2 


2 


■ 


I 

6 


2 
5 


I 


4 
3 


6 3 


2 





4 


5 




I 


5 
I 


2 


1 
1 


4 


I 
I 


I 
2 


2 


8|8 4 
6 5 


4 


7 
6 


8 
3 


5 


4 
6 


7 


2 I 


I 2 


I 




2 


' 


> 




2 


3 1 4 


4 


^1 


1 1 


5 


8 


8 


3 5 


i 2 


I 


I 


3 


3 


2 


8 


3 


3 4 1 9 


8 


5 


1 


5 


4 


I 


I I 


5 


3 


3 


^ 




5 


4 


3 


I 1 2 


3 




2 


2 


I 




I 


4 ? 


4 


9 


3 


s 


6 


4 


6 


5 1 10 


I 


2 




2 


I 




3 





4 


■ 




1 


6 


2 


2 


T|8 4 


5 


4 


5 


3 


3 


3 


3 


2 I 






T 


2 


3 




3 


3 4 





8 


2 


2 


2 




2 


2 I 


I 


1 

2 


5 
2 


2 
I 


2 

I 
1 


1 


4 
I 


3 


1 1 


7 


3 


6 


3 


2 


I 
I 


1 
I 


2 






I 








■1 


I 




■ 




I 


I I 


3 


I 


I 


I 


I 


2 


I 








H^ 





I I I I I I 



3 6 6 7 8 6 12 IS 15 13 18 29 28 38 34 36 37 38 34 4o|50 74 56 52 S3 38 33 36 27 14 16 11 12 2 3 2 4 1 3 3 2 i 

*' = 1 section with 6 pupils i' = i section with 9 pupils, r" = 1 section with 8 pupils, x' = 1 section with 7 pupils, ofi = 2 sections with 6 pupils, j;' = 1 section with 2 pupils. 



Present Si^e of Sections 7 

and Erasmus Hall, have sections with eighteen pupils or 
less ; all high schools, except Newtown, Erasmus Hall, Com- 
mercial, and Bushwick, have sections with seventeen pupils 
or less. There are also sections with five, six, and seven 
pupils. 

Large Sections in Every High School 
All high schools have sections with thirty-eight pupils or 
more; all high schools, except Curtis, have sections with 
thirty-nine pupils or more; all high schools, except Curtis, 
Boys', and Flushing, have sections with forty-four pupils 
or more. There are also sections with fifty, fifty-five, sixty, 
and sixty-five pupils. 

Great Variation in Size of Sections Among High Schools 
In Table I, the heavy line divides the number of sections 
in German in each high school into two approximately 
equal parts. It is to be noted that the heavy line crosses 
the numerical series for the various schools at many differ- 
ent points. 

The extremes of the variation are shown by the fact that 
the line passes between twenty and twenty-one in the case 
of Richmond Hill High School and between thirty-six and 
thirty-seven in the cases of the High School of Commerce 
and Washington Irving High School. 

Not only are there dififerences among the schools in the 
point at which the heavy line divides the number of sections 
in each school, but there is also no considerable number of 
schools which are divided between the same sizes of sections. 
Table III shows that the number of sections in each school 
is divided between the same numbers in only four of the 
twenty high schools : 

Table III 
Size of Section (At Right of Heavy Line) 

21 22 23 2425 262728 293031 32 33 3435 3637 
Number of schools 
divided at that point 10101002020422212 



8 Studies in High School Organization 

The Sise of Sections for the City as a Whole Does Not 
Sufficiently Approximate to a Standard 

The size of sections in both the small and large high 
schools ranges from a very small number of pupils to a very 
large number of pupils. For the city as a whole, the small- 
est section is five pupils, and the largest section is sixty-five 
pupils. Taking the totals of the city as a whole, as shown 
in Table I, it will be seen that, beginning with the size of 
section 25, the number of such sections is conspicuously 
larger and continues so to size of section 40. In other 
words, the most conspicuous sizes of section for the city as 
a whole are from twenty-seven sections with twenty-five 
pupils each to twenty-three sections with forty pupils each, 
without any one size between these extremes being conspic- 
uously common. Between these limits of twenty- five and 
forty in the scale are found 71.34 per cent, of the sections 
in German, If we apply the standard fixed by Associate 
City Superintendent Stevens (viz., thirty to forty pupils per 
section) to the city as a whole, we find that only 51.68 per 
cent. — a bare majority — of the sections in German are 
within the limits of that standard. 

It should be stated that the range of size of sections 
which is most conspicuous for the city as a whole (twenty- 
eight to forty pupils), as well as the range of size of sec- 
tions which is fixed by Associate City Superintendent Stev- 
ens for the combined terms (thirty to forty pupils), is too 
great. With the large number of pupils in the department 
of German in most high schools, sections ought to be so 
organized that a larger number of sections will come within 
the limits of a narrower standard. 



CHAPTER III 

THE SIZE OF SECTIONS COMPARED WITH 
THE ESTABLISHED STANDARDS 

PRINCIPALS are directed by Associate City Superin- 
tendent Stevens ^ to organize first term sections 
with as many as forty pupils each, and all other sections 
with from thirty to thirty-five pupils each. In order to 
measure the practice in the schools by these standards, it is 
necessary to separate first term sections from sections in 
other terms. Therefore, our discussion will be divided into 
two parts, (i) sections in first term, and (2) sections in 
the second to eighth terms, inclusive. 

Sections in First Term^ 

Table IV on page 10 shows for each school the per cent, 
of sections containing less than thirty pupils,^ from thirty 
to forty pupils, and over forty pupils. 

This table shows that some schools are approximating to 
the established standard — thirty to forty pupils — rather 
closely in first term sections. For example: 75 per cent, 
of first term sections in German in Wadleigh High School 

^ Statement made at a conference with Associate City Superintendent 
Stevens in his office, November 15, 191 1. 

"The tables on which Tables IV and V are based have been filed 
with the Committee on School Inquiry. 

■ Inasmuch as Associate City Superintendent Stevens set no minimum 
size for first term sections, we have adopted the minimum fixed for 
other terms, even though this sets up a standard with wide limits. 
These wide limits will partially account for the fact that schools more 
nearly approximate this standard than they do the standard in the 
upper terms. 

9 



10 Studies in High School Organization 



range from thirty to forty pupils per section. In Manual 
Training High School the percentage of sections between 
thirty and forty pupils is 77.78 per cent. In Commercial 
High School the percentage of sections conforming to the 
standard is 83.33 P^^" cent. In the smaller schools we should 
expect to find a somewhat greater variation from the stand- 

Table IV 



High Schools 



Below 30 
Pupils 



30-40 
Pupils 



Over 40 
Pupils 



DeWitt Clinton 

H. S. of Commerce. 

Stuyvesant 

Wadleigh 

Washington Irving. 

Morris 

Girls' 

Boys' 

Erasmus Hall 

Manual Training . . 

Commercial 

Eastern District. . . 

Bushwick 

Bryant 

Newtown 

Flushing 

Far Rockaway 

Jamaica 

Richmond Hill 

Curtis 



City. 



15 38 
20.00 
25.00 

4.76 

6.25 

30.00 

50.00 

83 -33 
II . II 
16.67 



66.67 

53-85 
73-33 
75.00 

52.38 
56.25 
40.00 
50.00 
16.67 
77.78 
83-33 
57-H 
60.00 

83 -33 

75.00 

100.00 



50.00 
20.00 
66.67 



33-33 
80.00 

33-33 



17-49 



61.75 



33-33 

30-77 

6.67 



42.86 
37.50 
30.00 



42.86 
40.00 
16.67 
25.00 



100.00 
16.67 



20.76 



ard than in the larger schools, where the principals can 
control more directly the size of section, owing to the larger 
number of pupils in first term. Nevertheless, in Flushing 
High School, where there are only four sections of first 
term German, all of them come within the limits of the 
standard. In Richmond Hill High School 80 per cent., or 
four out of five of the first term sections, are within the 
limits of the standard. 



Si^e of Sections and Established Standards 1 1 

On the other hand, in Erasmus Hall High School, 83.33 
per cent, of the sections in first term German contain less 
than thirty pupils; in Curtis High School, two thirds of the 
sections, or 66.67 per cent., contain less than thirty pupils. 
Further, in Eastern District High School, 42.86 per cent, 
of the sections in first term work contain over forty pupils. 

For the city as a whole it will be observed that 61.75 
per cent, of first term sections in German are organized 
within the limits of the standard; 17.49 per cent, of the 
sections contain less than thirty pupils, and 20.76 per cent, 
contain over forty pupils. There are seven high schools 
with no sections below thirty pupils in first term work ; on 
the other hand, there are seven high schools with no sec- 
tions* with over forty pupils. In general, therefore, it is 
seen that a fair majority of the sections in first term Ger- 
man are organized within the limits of the standard fixed 
by Associate City Superintendent Stevens for first term 
sections, and that there are more sections with over forty 
pupils than there are with less than thirty pupils. 

We have been measuring the practice in the schools by 
the established standard. It should be pointed out here 
that the practice of organizing first term pupils into sections 
of forty or more pupils must be emphatically condemned. 
The establishment of this rule that first term pupils be 
organized into sections larger than sections in other terms 
has grown out of an efifort on the part of the Board of 
Superintendents to maintain a uniform "average number of 
pupils per teacher" in the various schools of the city. As 
has been pointed out elsewhere.^ sections in the upper terms 
are likely to be unavoidably small. In order to offset this 
inevitable condition and produce a fair "average number of 
pupils per teacher," the sections of first term pupils are now 
made exceptionally large. Further, the number of pupils 
in first term classes, compared with the number of pupils in 
upper classes, seems to make it economically necessary to 
make sections in first term comparatively large. From an 

*See page 15. 



12 Studies in High School Organisation 

educational point of view there is no reason why the sec- 
tions in first term should be larger than sections in other 
terms, and there are many reasons why they should not be. 
For example: The pupils need more individual attention 
when they first enter high school than at any subsequent 
time; their work is all new; they have to become accus- 
tomed to more teachers; and they are soon lost if thrown 
too much on their own responsibility. 

Some of the first term sections with less than thirty 
pupils, shown in Table IV, are unavoidable,^ because there 
was only one section which contained all the pupils in that 
term. Some of these small sections are due to a division 
of one large section into two comparatively small ones, the 
two small ones containing all the pupils doing the work of 
that term. These sections must be considered unavoidable 
and hence defensible. There are, however, as a matter of 
fact, in the high schools of the city, only two such sections 
in first term. In other words, 6.25 per cent, of the sections 
with less than thirty pupils are unavoidable, leaving 93.75 
per cent, of the small sections avoidable^ through a redistri- 
bution of pupils. 

Considering the first term sections with over forty pupils 
in the same manner, we find that, of the 20.76 per cent, of 
the sections with over forty pupils, 5.26 per cent, of those 
sections were unavoidable, and 94.74 per cent, of them were 
in schools where a redistribution of pupils would have 
made it possible to reduce their size. Although we are not 
here fundamentally concerned with the financial conse- 
quences of reducing these large sections, it should be pointed 
out that while some of these large sections can be reduced by 
a redistribution of pupils, most of them can be avoided 
only by the employment of additional teachers. 

* This discussion of avoidable and unavoidable sections is based on 
tables filed with the Committee on School Inquiry, and not on tables 
included here. These tables were similar to those of selected schools 
on pp. 17, 22, 26. 

^ Provided the conditions in the school determining the size of section 
are within the principal's control. See p. 15 and note. 



Size of Sections and Established Standards 13 

Sections in the Second to Eighth Terms, Inclusive 

Table V shows for each school the per cent, of sections 
containing less than thirty pupils, from thirty to thirty-five 
pupils, and over thirty-five pupils. 



Table V 



High Schools 



Below 30 
Pupils 



30-35 
Pupils 



Over 35 
Pupils 



DeWitt Clinton... 
H. S. of Commerce 

Stuyvesant 

Wadleigh 

Washington Irving 

Morris 

Girls' 

Boys' 

Erasmus Hall 

Manual Training . . 

Commercial 

Eastern District. . , 

Bushwick 

Bryant 

Newtown 

Flushing 

Far Rockaway , 

Jamaica , 

Richmond Hill. . . . 
Curtis , 

City 



46.15 
38.10 
51.61 
40.00 
29.41 
39-47 
43-33 
60.00 
66.67 
41 .82 
38.71 
32-50 
60.00 

33-33 
45 46 
100.00 
80.00 
33-33 
70.59 
46.67 



44.82 



23.08 
19 05 
19 36 
30.00 

31-37 
34-21 
33-34 
30.00 
23-81 
40.00 
25-81 
40.00 
10.00 

33-34 
27.27 



20.00 
33-34 
17-65 
46.67 



29.60 



30.77 
42.85 
29.03 
30.00 
39.22 
26.32 

23-33 
10.00 
9-52 
18.18 
35-48 
27.50 
30.00 

33-33 
27.27 



33-33 

11.76 

6.66 



25-58 



This table shows that most of the schools are not approxi- 
mating to the standard of from thirty to thirty-five pupils 
per section in German above the first term. For example : 
In Stuyvesant High School, 51.61 per cent, of the sections 
contain less than thirty pupils ; in Wadleigh High School, 
40 per cent. ; in Boys' High School, 60 per cent. ; in Erasmus 
Hall High School, 66.67 per cent. ; and in Richmond Hill 
High School, 70.59 per cent. On the other hand, in the 



14 Studies in High School Organisation 

High School of Commerce, 42.85 per cent, of the sections 
in German above the first term contain more than thirty- 
five pupils; in Commercial High School, 35.48 per cent.; in 
Bryant High School and Jamaica High School, 33.33 per 
cent, of the sections in each contain over thirty-five pupils. 

The figures for the city as a whole indicate fairly well 
the conditions in each school. In the city as a whole, 44.82 
per cent, of the sections in German contain less than thirty 
pupils; 29.60 per cent, contain from thirty to thirty-five 
pupils, and 25.58 per cent, contain more than thirty-five 
pupils. It is, therefore, obvious that the sections in Ger- 
man above the first term are not now organized in accord- 
ance with the standard of thirty to thirty-five pupils. This 
is true of the city as a whole, and is true of every individual 
high school. Further, there is no high school in the city 
where a majority of the sections in German above the first 
term are organized in accordance with the standard. The 
largest per cent, of sections between thirty and thirty-five 
pupils in any one school is in Curtis High School, where 
46.67 per cent, of the sections range from thirty to thirty- 
five pupils. 

Of sections with less than thirty pupils, we find that, of 
the 44.82 per cent., 24.53 P^'* cent, were unavoidable, be- 
cause they contained all of the pupils in the given term. 
This leaves 75.47 per cent, of these sections with less than 
thirty pupils in terms where a different distribution of pupils 
would have made it possible to avoid them. 

Of the sections with over thirty-five pupils, 4.13 per cent, 
were unavoidable, and 95.87 per cent, were in terms where 
a different distribution of pupils or the employment of ad- 
ditional teachers would have made it possible to reduce their 
size. 



CHAPTER IV 

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SIZE OF 
SECTIONS AS FOUND? 

IMPORTANT FACTS WHICH TABLE I DOES NOT SHOW 

TABLE I, however, does not show whether the small or 
the large sections are inevitable, and hence defensible 
and justifiable, or whether they could be avoided by a differ- 
ent distribution of pupils. If the large section is the only sec- 
tion in a given term, and to divide it would mean two very 
small sections, such a section is justifiable. If a small sec- 
tion contains all the pupils doing that term's work, it is obvi- 
ous that such a section is inevitable and justifiable. On the 
other hand, if very small sections and very large sections 
are found in any given term, it is important to ascertain the 
reason. The reason may be found in the way the daily 
program is made, responsibility for which rests on the prin- 
cipal ; or it may be found in other factors ^ over which the 
Department of Education has exclusive control. To see to 
what extent the exceptionally large or exceptionally small 
sections are unavoidable, or whether they could have been 
avoided by a better distribution of pupils, assuming that 
the factors outside the principal's control are favorable, it 
is necessary to know the size of sections by terms for each 
school and annex. To include in this report all the tables 
giving these data would extend it unreasonably. Such tables 
have been filed with the Committee on School Inquiry. Our 
discussion will be limited to a few types, to illustrate the 
kind of material which such tables contain, and also to show 

* These factors are the program of studies, the size of the school, the 
size and number of classrooms, and the number of teachers employed. 

15 



i6 Studies in High School Organisation 

the worth of it for administrative, as well as supervisory, 
purposes. 

In the following study the sections in each school will be 
measured by the established standard size of section, after 
which attention will be given to the following points con- 
cerning the sections in each term: the range of size of sec- 
tion; the average size of section as organized; the desir- 
ability of increasing the number of sections to reduce the 
number of large sections; and the possible combination of 
sections to reduce the number of small sections. 



SIZE OF SECTIONS IN GERMAN IN MORRIS HIGH SCHOOL 

Table VI on page ly shows the size of sections in German 
in Morris High School by terms, and the number of sec- 
tions of each size, in the February-June term, 191 1. 

Morris High School is selected for study because it is 
typical of a large majority of the high schools in New York 
City as to courses of study offered, size of school, and size 
and number of classrooms. The organization of sections in 
the school in this and the following cases will be considered 
from the standpoint of (i) the school as a whole, and (2) 
each term within the school. 



The School as a Whole 

Comparing the size of sections in Morris High School 
with the established standards, we find : 

1. That 100 per cent, of the first term sections are 
within the limits of the established standard — thirty to forty 
pupils. 

2. That 41.38 per cent, of the sections in other terms are 
within the limits of the established standard — thirty to 
thirty-five pupils. 

3. That 31.03 per cent, of the sections contain less than 
thirty pupils, of which 33.33 per cent, are unavoidable and 



Responsibility for Size of Sections 17 



n 

j5 



1 



(U 

W 



00 








• M 












- 1 




















1 




5 
























»0 
























5- 


— 




M 


- 




- 


- 




w 


^ 























'-' 














"' 


00 
re 


W M W W 










m 




• »H 












^ 




nt-M 


: '-' 








VO 






'-' 


w 


'-' 






■* 


CO 




»-l 


»H 


^ 






to 


















M 

w 












'-' 







OS 


— 


" 






^ - 


- 












00 




N 11 












CO 


N 

VO 

in 


— 


»' 


- 


- 






- 




M^ 


M 














'-' 
















































01 
























iM 
N 










M 








- 1 



























OS 
























00 
























t>. 
























VO 
















¥A 


'-' 


in 














'-' : 


'-' 


03 

og 


t^ On »n m Tt ■<*• w w 


vO 


V 

1 




M 


N 


t* 


5TJ 


hii" 


5V0 


t> 


.00 





C 





1 8 Studies in High School Organization 

66.67 per cent, are avoidable by a different distribution of 
pupils.^ 

4. That 27.59 per cent, contain more than thirty-five 
pupils and are all avoidable. 

If we measure the sections in Morris High School by the 
proposed standard of thirty pupils per section, and take 
twenty-eight and thirty-five as the minimum and maximum 
limits of that standard, we find : 

1. That 44.44 per cent, of the sections in all terms are 
within the limits of this standard. 

2. That 13.89 per cent, of the sections contain less than 
twenty-eight pupils, of which 60 per cent, are unavoidable, 
and 40 per cent, are avoidable by a different distribution 
of pupils. 

3. That 41.67 per cent, contain more than thirty-five 
pupils, all of which are avoidable by a different distribution 
of pupils. 

If the sections in German in Morris High School did ap- 
proximate to the established standard, we should expect to 
find a considerable majority of sections containing from 
twenty-eight to thirty-five pupils ; a very small number of 
sections with more than thirty-five pupils per section, and a 
very large number of sections with less than twenty-eight 
pupils. Hence, except in the first term, the sections do not 
approximate closely to the established standard size. 

Each Term Within the School 

First Term. There are seven sections of first term Ger- 
man, ranging in size from thirty-six to thirty-nine pupils, 
with an average of 37.0 pupils per section. The range of 
the size of sections is satisfactory, because they do not dif- 
fer materially in size. The average size of section is too 
large; there should have been one more section formed, 

* Provided conditions in the school determining the size of sections 
are within the principal's control. This provision applies not only in 
this case, but also to similar statements made in the following pages. 



Responsibility for Si:^e of Sections 19 

thereby reducing the average number of pupils per section 
to 32.3, and correspondingly reducing the actual size of 
each section. 

Second Term. There are nine sections, ranging in size 
from twenty-five to thirty-eight pupils, with an average of 
31.9 pupils per section. The range of the size of sections is 
too great, and the question is raised why these sections were 
not made more uniform in size. The average size of section 
is reasonable, but there are some sections too large and 
some sections smaller than they need be for effective work. 

Third Term. There are five sections, ranging in size 
from twenty-eight to forty-six pupils, with an average of 
36.6 pupils per section. The range of the size of sections is 
too great. Also, the average size of section is too large. 
One more section should have been formed, thereby reduc- 
ing the average number of pupils per section to 30.5. 

Fourth Term. There are five sections, ranging in size 
from thirty-one to thirty-eight pupils, with an average of 
34.6 pupils per section. This is probably as effective an 
organization as could be made, both from the standpoint 
of the range of size of sections and the average number 
of pupils per section. Another section would have reduced 
the average too much, and the range of the size of section 
is not bad. 

Fifth Term. There are four sections, ranging in size 
from twenty-one to thirty-six pupils, with an average of 
29.2 pupils per section. The range of the size of sections is 
too great, but it is obvious that the average size of section 
is the best that could be provided in view of the fact that 
fewer sections than four would have made each section 
altogether too large. 

Sixth Term. There are four sections, ranging in size 
from thirty-one to thirty-five pupils, with an average of 
33.0 pupils per section. This organization is satisfactory, 
from the standpoint both of range and of the average size 
of sections. 

Seventh Term. There is one section of fifteen pupils, 



20 Studies in High School Organisation 

which, of course, is the best that could be arranged, inas- 
much as it includes all of the pupils in this term. 

Eighth Term. There is one section of sixteen pupils, 
which certainly could not be improved upon, because all the 
pupils in the eighth term are in this section. There is a 
possibility of a combination of seventh and eighth term 
sections, but such a combination might be unsatisfactory be- 
cause of the size of the resulting section, or impossible for 
administrative reasons. 

The important points in this discussion of the sections in 
Morris High School are : 

1. The number of sections in the first six terms of Ger- 
man is four or more. The size of section, therefore, 
depends, to some extent, upon how the principal dis- 
tributes the pupils. In the seventh and eighth terms 
there is only one section in each term. 

2. The average size of section is: 

a. Altogether too large in the 

first term (37.0) 
third term (36.6) 

b. Nearly the maximum size in the 

fourth term (34.6) 
sixth term (33.0) 

c. Satisfactory in the 

second term (31.9) 
fifth term (29.2) 

d. Unavoidably small in the 

seventh term (15.0) 
eighth term (16.0) 

3. The range of the size of sections is: 

a. Satisfactory in the 

first term (36 to 39) 
fourth term (31 to 38) 
sixth term (31 to 35) 

b. Unsatisfactory in the 

second term (25 to 38) 
third term (28 to 46) 
fifth term (21 to 36) 



Responsibility for Size of Sections 21 

4. As a result of the facts revealed, additional sections 
would be recommended in the first and third terms 
to reduce the size of sections. It is also worth point- 
ing" out that there was a possibility of combining the 
two sections in the seventh and eighth terms of work. 
In this reorganization, therefore, it would have been 
necessary to make only one additional section, or two 
in case it was impossible, for administrative reasons, 
to unite the sections in the seventh and eighth terms. 
No additional teachers would have been needed, pro- 
vided the programs of teachers were not already 
heavy. 

SIZE OF SECTIONS IN GERMAN IN BOYS^ HIGH SCHOOL 

Table VII on page 22 shows the size of sections in Ger- 
man in the Boys' High School by terms, and the number of 
sections of each size, in the February- June term, 1911. 

Boys' High School is selected for study because it has 
been shown in Table I that the size of sections in this school 
is relatively small. 

The School as a Whole 

Comparing the size of sections in Boys' High School with 
the established standards, we find : 

1. That only 50 per cent, of the first term sections are 
within the limits of the established standard — thirty to forty 
pupils. 

2. That 50 per cent, of the sections contain less than 
thirty pupils and are all avoidable. 

3. That there are no sections containing more than forty 
pupils. 

4. That 30 per cent, of the sections in other terms are 
within the limits of the established standard — thirty to 
thirty-five pupils. 



22. 



Studies in High School Organisation 







Ov 






• h-l • • ■ - 1 








CD 








00 










rC 








I^ 










rO 








VO 


1 t^ 








CO 








ID 










rC 








Ti- 










ro 








CO 




• N I N 






CO 








O 


1 ^ 


1 CO 






CO 








M 


1 " ^ 


■) 1 OI 






CO 








O 


1 *^ 


• hH 1-1 . . . • 1 ro 






CO 








Os 




' t^ • . 1 h^ 






04 








00 




• hH 1 hH 




to 

o 


0) 










1 ""^ *" 


iM ..... 1 CO 




O 




• -MM ■ • 1 CO 






<N 








lO 


1 0) 1- 


. (X .... 1 1/2 




"S 


0) 








"^ 










0) 
CO 


0) 












CO 1 








(— I 


c^^ 










h- 1 














> 




M 










u 




o 










I-) 

< 




M 












o^ 


w 


1 hH 


H 




t-t 






00 


H-l 


. . hH . . . 1 0) 






H-t 








r^ 












HH 












VO 














HH 












lO 














1^ 












'^ 














>-< 












CO 














)-< 












cs 














HH 












l_l 














>-< 










o 






. hH . hH 




1 


hH 










n 








•^ 


3 


o >o 


iC ■rt- (N CO hH o O 




o-* 




>-l 


CO 




■^0 
























•I M 


CO'^IDVO t^oo • 






a. 






-3 
o ♦ 












H 


1 



Responsibility for Sii^e of Sections 23 

5. That 60 per cent, of the sections contain less than 
thirty pupils, of which 50 per cent, are unavoidable, and 50 
per cent, are avoidable by a different distribution of pupils. 

6. That 10 per cent, of the sections contain more than 
thirty-five pupils, and are all avoidable. 

If w^e measure the sections in Boys' High School by the 
proposed standard of thirty pupils, and take twenty-eight 
and thirty-five as the minimum and maximum limits of that 
standard, we find : 

1. That 40 per cent, of the sections in all terms are 
within the limits of this standard. 

2. That 50 per cent, of the sections contain less than 
twenty-eight pupils, of which 33.33 per cent, are unavoid- 
able, and 66.67 psr cent, are avoidable by a different distri- 
bution of pupils. 

3. That 10 per cent, of the sections contain more than 
thirty-five pupils, and this may be avoided in each case by 
a different distribution of pupils. 

It is interesting to note that twenty-three out of thirty, 
or 76.67 per cent., of the sections in German in Boys' High 
School are organized according to a standard of which 
twenty-five is the minimum and thirty-three is the maximum 
number of pupils. This shows that a school can be organ- 
ized approximately within the limits of such a standard. 
The criticism of this organization is, first, that the standard, 
as here shown, does not approximate to the established 
standard for the city, and, second, that the standard here 
shown is unnecessarily low. 

Each Term Within the School 

A study of the size of sections by terms in Boys' High 
School, similar to the study made of Morris High School,^ 
leads to the following conclusions : 

*See pp. 18, 19, 20. 



24 Studies in High School Organization 

1. The number of sections in each of five terms is three 

or more. In one term, the fifth, there are two sec- 
tions ; in the seventh there is one section ; and in the 
eighth there are no pupils. Hence, in most terms the 
size of section depends on how the principal dis- 
tributes the pupils. 

2. The average size of section is : 

a. Not too large in any term. 

b. Not up to the maximum in any term. 

c. Satisfactory in the 

second term (30.4; 
third term (30.2) 
fourth term (29.7) 
sixth term (27.0) 

d. Unavoidably small in the 

fifth term (22.0) 
seventh term ( lo.o) 

e. Unnecessarily small in the 

first term (27.6) 

3. The range of size of section is : 

a. Satisfactory in the 

third term (27 to 33) 
sixth term (26 to 29) 

b. Unsatisfactory in the 

first term (18 to 36) 
second term (25 to 38) 
fourth term (25 to 39) 

4. The organization shows that the pupils in the first 
term could have been organized into one less section, 
and that in no term is an additional section needed. 
The reorganization proposed would have made less 
work for the teachers of German. 

That the average of 27.0 pupils in the sixth term is con- 
sidered satisfactory, and an average of 2y.6 pupils in the 



Responsibility for Si^e of Sections 25 

first term unsatisfactory, should be explained. This is be- 
cause in the sixth term there were only three sections and 
the average could not be raised, whereas in the first term 
there were ten sections and that number of sections could 
be reduced by one without making sections too large. 

SIZE OF SECTIONS IN GERMAN IN RICHMOND HILL HIGH 

SCHOOL 

Table VIII on page 26 shows the size of sections in Ger- 
man in the Richmond Hill High School by terms, and the 
number of sections of each size, in the February-June term, 
1911. 

Richmond Hill High School is selected for study be- 
cause it was shown in Table I that the sections in German 
in this school were the smallest in the city, in spite of the 
fact that the number of pupils taking German in this school 
compares favorably with the number in other schools. 

The School as a Whole 

Comparing the size of sections in Richmond Hill High 
School with the established standards, we find : 

1. That 80 per cent, of the first term sections are within 
the limits of the standard — thirty to forty pupils. 

2. That 20 per cent, of the sections contain less than 
thirty pupils, and are all avoidable. 

3. That there are no sections containing more than forty 
pupils. 

4. That 17.65 per cent, of the sections in other terms 
are within the limits of the established standard — thirty to 
thirty-five pupils. 

5. That 70.59 per cent, of the sections contain less than 
thirty pupils, of which 30.77 per cent, are unavoidable, and 
69.23 per cent, are avoidable by a different distribution of 
pupils. 

6. That 11.76 per cent, of the sections contain more 
than thirty-five pupils, and are all avoidable. 



26 Studies in High School Organization 





o 

o 

0) 


to 1 

^ 1 


• M 












1 ^ 1 




t 1 






















? 1 






















<s 1 






















M 1 

Tt- 1 






















o 1 

^ 1 






















On 1 






















00 1 

ro 1 




: " 










1 " 




^ 1 




















^ 1 M 
fO 1 














1 "^ 




lO 1 ro w 
fO 1 












'^ 




ro 1 




















ro 1 
"^ 1 




















01 1 






1— ( 








(— ( 




ro 1 








w 






" 




o 1 

<^ 1 




















a\ 1 

Cl 1 


K-l 












" 


1— 1 
1— 1 


oo 1 

oi 1 




















> 


^ 1 




















►J 

m 
< 


CI 1 




















<N 1 




















H 


M 1 


*-' 












I-' 




ro 1 
c< 1 




















^ 1 




















j:; 1 








-' 






" 




o 1 




'-' : 










'-' 




ON 1 l-l 












'-' 




CO 1 

*-* 1 


















l^ 1 

M 1 




1— ( tH 








N 




1— I 1 






'-' : 




■-< 




ir> 1 




- h-l 








'-' 




^ 1 




W . 










'-' 




CO 1 

1— 1 1 




















M 1 




















m 1 • 










" : 




t-H 




o 1 










'.'U'U 


N 




S,;oaS JO -OM 1 lO n- Tt ro 0) (N -* 


00 


0) 




suu 


3X 


N 


t^" 


"4 


■ir 


VO 


t^ 



Responsibility for Si:::e of Sections 27 

If we measure the sections in Richmond Hill High 
School by the proposed standard of thirty pupils per sec- 
tion, and take twenty-eight and thirty-five as the minimum 
and maximum limits of that standard, we find: 

1. That only 31.82 per cent, of the sections in all terms 
are within the limits of the standard. 

2. That 54.54 per cent, of the sections contain less than 
twenty-eight pupils, of which 33.33 per cent, are unavoid- 
able, and 66.67 P^J" cent, avoidable by a different distribu- 
tion of pupils. 

3. That 13.64 per cent, of the sections contain more 
than thirty-five pupils, and are all avoidable by a differ- 
ent distribution of pupils. 

It should be pointed out that in Richmond Hill High 
School over 70 per cent, of the sections other than first 
term sections contain less than thirty pupils, and, further, 
that, even with the minimum of the standard reduced from 
thirty to twenty-eight pupils, the per cent, below the stand- 
ard is over 64 per cent. In other words, the sections in 
German in Richmond Hill High School are too small, 
whether measured by the established standards or by the 
proposed standard. 



Each Term Within the School 

A study of the size of sections by terms in Richmond 
Hill High School, similar to the study made of Morris 
High School,^ leads to the following conclusions : 

I. The number of sections in each of six terms is two 
or more. In two terms, the seventh and eighth, 
there is one section in each. Hence, in most cases, 
the size of sections depends on how the principal 
distributes the pupils. 

*See pp. 18, ig, 20. 



28 Studies in High School Organisation 

2. The average size of section is: 

a. Not too large in any term. 

b. Approaching the maximum in only the 

second term (33.2) 

c. Satisfactory in the 

first term (32.0) 

d. Unavoidably small in the 

fifth term (26.0) 
seventh term (7.0) (14) 
eighth term (7.0) 

e. Unnecessarily small in the 

third term (22.2) 
fourth term (21.3) 
sixth term (13.5) 

3. The range of size of section is: 

a. Satisfactory in the 

fifth term (21 to 31) 
(Only two sections.) 

b. Unsatisfactory in the 

first term (19 to 36) 
second term (24 to 45) 
third term ( 14 to 38) 
/ fourth term (15 to 32) 

sixth term (11 to 16) 

4. By reorganization, the work of one teacher could be 

saved, because the number of sections could be re- 
duced by four without making sections too large for 
effective work; the large sections could be aban- 
doned and the small sections made to approximate 
the standard size of section. 

SUMMARY 

To summarize our study of the organization of sections 
in Morris, Boys', and Richmond Hill High Schools, we may 
say: 



Responsibility for Size of Sections 29 

1. That a majority of the sections in the first terms 
are within the Hmits of the estabHshed standard. 
(Morris, 100 per cent.; Boys', 50 per cent.; Rich- 
mond Hill, 80 per cent.) 

2. That a large majority of the sections in other terms 
are outside the limits of the standard. (Morris, 
over 58 per cent. ; Boys', 70 per cent. ; Richmond 
Hill, over 82 per cent.) 

3. That a large per cent, of the sections below the 
minimum of the established standard are avoidable 
by a different distribution of pupils. (Avoidable in 
Morris, over 66 per cent. ; in Boys', 50 per cent. ; in 
Richmond Hill, over 69 per cent.) 

4. That all of the sections over the maximum of the 
established standard are avoidable by a different dis- 
tribution of pupils, or by the employment of addi- 
tional teachers. 

The measurement of the organization of the high schools, 
as they existed in the February-June term, 191 1, by the 
proposed standard of thirty pupils per section, with a 
minimum of twenty-eight and a maximum of thirty-five 
pupils, shows that such a standard should be adopted, par- 
ticularly in order to reduce very large first term sections. 
This study also brings out the fact that the sections are not 
now organized in accordance with the established standards. 

Summarizing the detailed study of the organization of 
sections in the selected schools, the following statements 
can be made : 

I, There are enough pupils in German in all terms, 
except the seventh and eighth, to necessitate the 
organization of more than one section. Hence, the 
principal can control to some extent the size of sec- 
tions into which the pupils are distributed. 



30 Studies in High School Organisation 

2. The average size of section, with few exceptions, is 
fairly satisfactory, except in the first term. In most 
cases there are too few sections of first term 
pupils. 

3. The range of the actual size of sections is generally 
unsatisfactory in each term. That is to say, there 
are small sections and large sections in the same 
term. 

4. Some small sections are inevitable and, hence, de- 
fensible. 

5. Most small sections are the result of a bad distribu- 
tion of pupils by the principal. 

6. In a few cases large sections are inevitable and, 
hence, defensible. 

7. In most cases large sections are unnecessary and not 
defensible. They cannot be defended on the ground 
that the proper number of teachers is lacking, be- 
cause it is the duty of the principals and the Board 
of Superintendents to secure the teachers needed. 

8. In some cases, additional sections should have been 
made in the first term to reduce the size of section. 

9. In a few cases fewer sections could have been made 
without making the sections too large. In one 
school, of the three schools considered, one teacher 
could have thus been spared. 

10. And, finally, our study has shown the facts which 
such a treatment of high school organization re- 
veals, and suggests the use which can be made of 
them. These facts would show the principal where 
the organization of his school could be improved, 
and they would also furnish the supervisory offi- 
cers with the proper information by which to judge 
that organization. 



CHAPTER V 
THE PROPOSED STANDARD SIZE OF SECTIONS 

WHAT IS THE PROPER SIZE OF SECTION? 

IT has been shown that there are very small sections in 
every high school in the city ; that there are very large 
sections in every high school ; that the size of sections for the 
city as a whole does not sufficiently approximate to a stand- 
ard; and that the size of sections in individual high schools 
does not sufficiently approximate to the established stand- 
ards. Hence, it is natural to raise the question : What is 
the proper size of a recitation section in high school work? 
Sections in German have been found with as few as five 
pupils/ and with as many as sixty-five pupils.^ In the case 
of the five pupils it happens that they were the only pupils 
doing eighth term work in German, and hence the size of 
section could not be changed. On the other hand, a situa- 
tion which requires a principal to put sixty-five pupils into 
a section in third term German must be considered highly 
unsatisfactory. As far as we know, no well organized ex- 
periments have ever been undertaken to determine the 
number of high school pupils which should constitute a reci- 
tation section. In view of the absence of an authoritative 
standard, we recommend that a theoretically correct stand- 
ard be adopted, and then tested in practice. We suggest that 
the tests cover the following points : 

I. The relative progress of pupils in large and in small 
sections in the same term and the same subject. 

* Far Rockaway High School. 
^Washington Irving High School. 

31 



32 Studies in High School Organisation 

2. The effect upon teachers, intellectually and physically, 
of handling large and small sections. 

In investigating the first topic, care should be taken that 
the results of the experiment are comparable. For example : 
the progress of a small section in mathematics should be 
compared with the progress of a large section in the same 
term's work of the same subject, and with pupils of the same 
relative stage of advancement. In the same way the rela- 
tive progress of large and small sections in several subjects 
should be examined. 

In investigating the second topic such questions as the 
following should be asked : 

1. Does the teacher find inevitable disadvantages, from 
the standpoint of discipline, attention, ventilation, etc., in 
handling large classes ? 

2. Of how many pupils can a teacher hold the undivided 
attention for a period of forty-five minutes? 

3. How much more (if at all) do large classes exhaust 
the teacher's physical and mental resources than small ones ? 

4. To what extent do large classes interfere with the 
teacher's growth in scholarship and in skill as a teacher ? 

PROVISIONAL STANDARD OF THIRTY PUPILS RECOMMENDED 

After careful consideration we recommend that thirty 
pupils be provisionally adopted as the standard size of a 
recitation section. With that standard, sections could rea- 
sonably range from twenty-eight to thirty-three or thirty- 
five pupils.^ This provisional standard is in accordance with 
the practice elsewhere in the country,^ and has been arrived 
at by our staff and the principals of the high schools working 
independently of each other. 

^ These figures are for sections in those terms in which there are 
pupils enough to make two or more sections. In other terms, the sec- 
tions must be organized as the situation requires. 

^ For example, the regulations of the North Central Association of 
Colleges and Secondary Schools. 



Proposed Standard Size of Sections 33 



HOW FAR IS THE PRESENT PRACTICE FROM THAT STANDARD? 

To show the extent to which the size of sections in the 
high schools fails to approximate to the proposed standard 
of from twenty-eight to thirty-five pupils, the following 
table has been prepared. Table IX shows the per cent, of 
the sections in German in all terms which contain less than 
twenty-eight pupils, from twenty-eight to thirty-five pupils, 
and over thirty-five pupils : 

Table IX 



High Schools 



Below 28 
Pupils 



28-35 
Pupils 



Over 35 
Pupils 



DeWitt Clinton... 
H. S. of Commerce 

Stuyvesant 

Wadleigh 

Washington Irving 

Morris 

Girls' 

Boys' 

Erasmus Hall .... 
Manual Training . . 

Commercial 

Eastern District. . 

Bushwick 

Bryant 

Newtown 

Flushing 

Far Rockaway .... 

Jamaica 

Richmond Hill ... 
Curtis 

City 



71 

59 
13 
17 

72 

19 
50 
00 

74 
56 
45 
68 
00 
34 
34 
43 
67 
39 
82 

56 



48.57 
72.94 
23.91 

33-33 
52.78 
44-44 
30.00 
10.00 
II . II 
21.88 

32.73 
36.17 
55-00 
33-33 
33-33 

7-14 
16.67 
27.78 
13-64 

5-55 



29. 12 



38.11 



32-77 



This table shows, for the city as a whole, that 29.12 per 
cent, of the sections in German contain less than twenty- 
eight pupils; that 38.11 per cent, contain from twenty-eight 
to thirty-five pupils, and that 32.77 per cent, contain more 
than thirty-five pupils. This table has not been introduced 
as a basis for criticising adversely the present organization 



34 Studies ill High School Orgauicafiou 

of sections in the high schools. The high schools have been 
organized according to other standards ; hence, it is natural 
that there should be no evident conformity to the standard 
of twenty-eight to thirty-tive pupils set up in this table. 
The table has been introduced to show that much reorganiza- 
tion is necessary to approximate the standard which we have 
recommended. 

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

Our findings concerning the size of sections ^ may be 
summarized as follows : 

1. Large sections are due to 

( 1 ) The present official standard size — which is too 

large. 

(2) The lack of the necessary teachers. 

(3) In a few cases, a bad distribution of pupils by 

the principal. 

2. Small sections are due to 

(i) The inevitably small number of pupils in the 

upper terms of work. 
(2) In a few cases, a bad distribution of pupils by 

the principal. 

Hence, we recommend: 

1. The adoption of a standard size of section of thirty 

pupils for all terms as a provisional standard to be 
tested in practice. 

2. The employment of enough teachers to make it pos- 

sible for principals to keep the size of sections rea- 
sonably within the limits of the standard — twenty- 
eight to thirty-five pupils. 
'3. A careful study by the principals of the subject of 
program-making, to the end that unnecessary over- 
size sections may be reduced, and unnecessary 
under-size sections may be avoided. 
*For other factors which may affect the size of section, see p. 15. 



The Work of Chairmen of Departments 



CHAPTER VI 
CLASSIFICATION OF TEACHERS 

TEACHERS in the high schools of New York City are 
classified by rank as first assistants, assistant teach- 
ers, and junior teachers. For our purpose classification as 
(i) first assistants and (2) teachers^ will be satisfactory. 

FIRST ASSISTANTS 

According to the by-laws of the Board of Education the 
term "first assistant" includes the old titles of head teacher, 
assistant to the principal, and vice-principal.^ The by-laws ^ 
define the duties of a first assistant as follows: "A first 
assistant shall, in addition to the work of instruction, assist 
the principal in matters relating to discipline, supervision, 
and administration, as may be necessary." Further, the by- 
laws provide that persons ranking as first assistants shall be 
assigned to chairmanships of departments as far as possible. 
The by-laws ^ define the duties of a chairman as follows : 

^ The rank of junior teacher in the high school was not recognized in 
the "Equal Pay" Bill, passed in 191 1. 

^We have used the term, "chairman of department," instead of the 
logical one of first assistant, because the former term is more compre- 
hensive. All first assistants are chairmen of departments, but, in the 
smaller high schools especially, there are chairmen of departments who 
are not first assistants. Inasmuch as one phase of our discussion is 
the amount of time given to supervision and direction of the work of 
other teachers by the chairmen of departments, it is important that the 
work of all chairmen be considered, whether they are first assistants or 
not. 

" Section 52, Paragraph 10, Page 68, By-laws of the Board of Edu- 
cation, 1909. 

37 



38 Studies in High School Organisation 

"A chairman of department shall, in addition to regular 
work in the classroom, organize and supervise the work of 
the other teachers of the department under the direction of 
the principal." 

Briefly, the work of the first assistant may be classified as 
(i) instruction; (2) assistant to the principal in the admin- 
istration of the school; and (3) administration, including 
supervision, of the work within a department of study. 



TEACHERS 

The principal assigns work to teachers in accordance with 
their respective licenses. Teachers may be temporarily 
assigned to classes in subjects other than those for which 
they hold licenses. The principal is permitted, by the by- 
laws, to assign to teachers such other duties, in addition to 
teaching, as he may see fit, subject to the approval of the 
City Superintendent. The work of a teacher, therefore, 
may be divided into (i) instruction, and (2) other assigned 
duties. 

The size of the high schools in New York City makes 
inevitable a large amount of administrative work which has 
to be delegated by the principal to first assistants and teach- 
ers. The school day in the high school is divided into six 
recitation periods, except in the technical schools, in which 
there are seven periods. It is quite generally agreed that 
each high school teacher, of whatever rank, should have one 
free period per day for the preparation of his own work 
as a teacher. As a result, twenty-five periods per week has 
become the established standard of work for each teacher. 
This standard seems to us satisfactory. Hence, we suggest 
that, in proportion as a teacher is given administrative work, 
the number of teaching periods assigned should be cor- 
respondingly reduced. On the other hand, if a teacher is 
assigned the full number of twenty-five teaching periods, 
he ought not to be made responsible for other work. 



Classification of Teachers 39 

PROVISIONS IN THE BY-LAWS ^ 

According to the by-laws of the Board of Education, the 
principal of a high school of any size is permitted, with the 
approval of the Board of Superintendents, to organize his 
school into departments of instruction. In schools with not 
less than twenty-five teachers the principal is permitted, 
with the consent of the Board of Superintendents, to assign 
to teachers the chairmanships of such departments for a 
period of one year. If there is a first assistant in the de- 
partment, he must be made such chairman; otherwise, a 
regular teacher may be chairman. 

Table X on page 40 gives a list of the high schools, the 
number of students, the number of teachers, and the num- 
ber of first assistants in each. 

The following facts concerning Table X should be par- 
ticularly noted : 

1. In the larger high schools (Group I) the number 
of first assistants ranges from six to nine for a school. 

2. There is only one high school ^ (Far Rockaway) 
in New York City with less than twenty-five teachers, 
and, hence, nineteen out of the twenty high schools may 
have, upon recommendation of the principal and with the 
consent of the Board of Superintendents, chairmen of de- 
partments. Even in Far Rockaway High School, with only 
thirteen teachers, there is already a first assistant in com- 
mercial branches. 

*"The principal of each high school may organize, subject to the 
approval of the Board of Superintendents, departments of instruction 
in the several groups of subjects of the course of study. In schools 
having not less than twenty-five teachers the principal may assign, 
subject to the approval of the Board of Superintendents, a regular 
high school teacher to act as chairman of such department for a period 
not extending beyond the end of the school year in which said assign- 
ment is made. Persons holding the rank of first assistants shall be 
assigned as such chairmen as far as possible." — Section 52, Paragraph 
10, Page 68, By-laws of the Board of Education, 1909. 

^ Bushwick High School has not yet been completely organized, so 
that there were no first assistants in the high school on March 31, 
191 1. 



40 Studies in High School Organization 



3. The small number of first assistants in the smaller 
high schools (Bryant, Newton, and Richmond Hill) indi- 
cates that the chairmanships of such department in these 

Table X 



High Schools 



Number 

of 
Students 



Number 

of 
Teachers 



Number 

of First 

Assistants 



Group I: 

DeWitt Clinton 

High School of Commerce 

Stuy vesant 

Wadleigh 

Washington Irving 

Morris 

Girls' 

Boys' 

Erasmus Hall 

Manual Training 

Commercial 

Eastern District 

Group II: 

Bushwick 

Bryant 

Newtown 

Flushing 

Far Rockaway 

Jamaica 

Richmond Hill 

Curtis 



3,173 
2,006 
2,148 
2,794 
3,804 
3,365 
2,969 
1,834 

3,115 
3,087 

2,399 
2,766 



929 

959 
776 
586 
248 
983 
756 



108 
68 

95 
114 

137 
121 
116 

77 
126 
128 
100 

93 



32 

45 

28 

28 

13I 

41 

34 

37 



These figures were taken from the budget blanks filed by the princi- 
pals of the high schools on June 12, 191 1. The figures are for March 
31, 1911. 

For the purpose of later discussions, the high schools have been 
divided into two groups : I, those with more than 1,000 pupils, and II, 
those with less than 1,000 pupils. 

schools are being assigned to teachers of a rank lower than 
that of first assistant. 

Obviously there will be practically as many departments 
of instruction in one of these small schools as there are in a 
larger school, because the same courses of study are offered. 



Classification of Teachers 41 

In fact, more courses (general, commercial, etc.) are 
usually offered in the smaller high schools than in the larger 
schools, so that the number of departments would be larger. 
Obviously, also, the number of teachers within a department 
in the smaller schools is comparatively smaller than in the 
larger schools. 



CHAPTER VII 
THE WORK OF CHAIRMEN AS TEACHERS 

WORK AS A TEACHER (PERIODS OF TEACHING) 

In the Larger High Schools 

ACCORDING to a statement ^ made by Associate City 
Superintendent Stevens, principals of the larger high 
schools are directed to assign to chairmen of departments 
from twelve to fifteen periods of teaching, thus leaving them 
from ten to thirteen periods of time in which to organize 
and supervise the work of their departments and to perform 
such other duties as the principal may assign to them. 

Table XI on page 43 shows the number of periods per 
week actually taught by chairmen of the departments of 
English, Latin, French and German, mathematics, biology, 
chemistry, physics, and history, in the high schools of New 
York City with more than 1,000 pupils. 

Only five chairmen teach fewer than fifteen periods; the 
chairman of the English department in Morris High School 
teaches nine periods; the chairman of the history depart- 
ment in Manual Training High School teaches eight periods ; 
the chairman of the mathematics department in Commer- 
cial High School teaches ten periods, and each devotes the 
remainder of his time to work in the general office. The 
chairman of the English department in the Girls' High 
School teaches fourteen periods, and the chairman of the 
mathematics department in Erasmus Hall High School 
teaches fourteen periods. Eighteen chairmen of depart- 
ments are teaching fifteen periods. It will be seen, there- 

^At a conference in his office, November 15, 191 1. 
42 



Chairmen as Teachers 



43 



fore, that seventy-two out of ninety-five chairmen of depart- 
ments in these schools, or 75.7 per cent., are teaching more 
than the number of periods fixed as the maximum standard 
for chairmen in these large high schools. 

Table XI — 95 Chairmen of Departments 







Number of Periods of Teaching 










8 



9 

I 


10 



II 



12 



13 



14 
I 


15 
4 


16 
I 


17 
I 


18 

I 


19 
2 


20 

I 


21 



22 



23 



24 



25 



26 



27 



28 



29 



30 


English . . . 





Latin 























2 


2 








I 


4 























I 








Fr. & Ger. . 























2 


I 





2 


5 


9 





I 


























Mathem'cs 








I 











I 


I 


I 


I 


I 





4 








2 























Biology. . . 























2 


I 








I 


3 











I 




















Chemistry . 























2 


I 


I 


I 


I 


3 


I 


I 


























Physics . . . 























3 








I 





3 


2 


I 





I 




















History. . . 


I 




















2 





I 


3 





2 











I 





I 














Total . . 


I 


I 


I 











2 


18 


7 


4 


9 


10 


29 


3 


3 


2 


3 





I 





I 









These figures were taken from the "Program of Daily Recitation" 
sheets furnished the Department of Education by the high school 
principals in February and March, 191 1. 



In the Smaller High Schools 

Associate City Superintendent Stevens informed ^ us that 
principals of the smaller high schools are directed to assign 
to chairmen of departments from fifteen to eighteen periods 
of teaching. 

Table XII shows the number of periods per week actually 
taught by chairmen of the departments of English, Latin, 
French and German, mathematics, biology, chemistry, 
physics, and history, in the high schools of New York City 
with less than 1,000 pupils. 

^ See note, p. 42. 



44 Studies in High School Organisation 

Table XII — 69 Chairmen of Departments 





Number of Periods of Teaching 


Chairmen 




8 


9 10 



II 



12 



13 



14 



15 

I 


16 



17 



18 
I 


19 

3 


20 



21 



22 

I 


23 



24 

I 


25 
I 


26 



27 



28 



29 



30 


English . . . 





Latin 

















I 














2 











I 


4 

















Fr. & Ger. . 

















I 











2 


I 














12 

















Mathem'cso 





























2 


I 








2 





2 





I 











Biology. . . 

















I 














4 














I 





I 


I 








Chemistry. 

















I 














3 














3 





I 











Physics . . . 

















I 





























4 





I 











History. . . 

















I 








I 








I 


2 


2 























Total . . 

















7 








2 


7 


II 


I 


3 


4 


2 


27 





4 


I 









These figures were taken from the "Program of Daily Recitation" 
sheets furnished the Department of Education by the high school 
principals in February and March, 1911. 

There are no chairmen of departments in these smaller 
high schools teaching fewer than fifteen periods per week, 
and some chairmen are teaching as many as twenty-seven 
and twenty-eight periods. Nine of the sixty-nine chairmen 
teach eighteen periods or less; in other words, only 13.04 
per cent, of the chairmen are teaching according to the 
above standard of fifteen to eighteen periods. It will be 
observed, therefore, that sixty out of sixty-nine chairmen, 
or 86.9 per cent., are teaching more periods per week than 
the number of periods fixed as the maximum standard for 
chairmen in these smaller high schools. 



TIME LEFT FOR OTHER ASSIGNED DUTIES 

In the Larger High Schools 

A chairman of a department who teaches fifteen periods 
obviously has left ten periods of time which he may utilize 
in the discharge of such other duties as the principal may 



Chairnicn as Teachers 45 

assign to him, assuming a standard of twenty-five periods 
of work per week. Computing the whole number of such 
periods (from the figures given in Table XI, page 43), we 
find that ninety-five chairmen of departments in the twelve 
high schools with over 1,000 pupils have a total of 637 
teaching periods of time left every week, or an average per 
chairman of 6.70 periods. This average of 6.70 periods 
per week per chairman, then, is the number of periods of 
time actually left to each chairman of department in which 
he may supervise the work of his department, and dis- 
charge such administrative duties as the principal may 
assign to him. 

It should be recalled at this point that the standard teach- 
ing assignment, as fixed by Associate City Superintendent 
Stevens, contemplates that each chairman in these larger 
schools should have from ten to thirteen periods per week, 
or an average of 11.5 periods, in which to discharge other 
assigned duties. In view of the fact that chairmen are 
being allowed, in actual practice, only an average of 6.70 
periods per week, it is clear that they are being allowed 
only 58.26 per cent, of the time this standard contemplates. 

In the Smaller High Schools 

Computing the whole number of periods of time remain- 
ing over and above the number of teaching periods assigned 
(based on Table XII, page 44), we find that sixty-nine 
chairmen of departments in the eight high schools with 
fewer than 1,000 pupils have a total of 193 teaching periods 
of such time left each week, or an average per chairman of 
2.79 periods. This average of 2.79 periods per week is the 
amount of time left each week to each chairman of depart- 
ment in these smaller schools in which to supervise his 
department and to discharge such other administrative func- 
tions as the principal may assign to him. 

The standard teaching assignment, as fixed by Associate 
City Superintendent Stevens, contemplates that each chair- 



46 Studies in High School Organisation 

man in these smaller high schools shall have from seven to 
ten periods per week, or an average of 8.5 periods, in which 
to discharge other assigned duties. These chairmen are 
receiving, in actual practice, only an average of 2.79 periods 
per week for such work, or only 32.82 per cent, of the time 
the standard contemplates. 

TEACHING AND STUDY HALL SUPERVISION 

Of the "other assigned duties" which are given to chair- 
men of departments, charge of a study hall or class is the 
only one which can be stated in statistical form. The assign- 
ment is always a definite number of recitation periods per 
week, and, hence, the amount of time given to teaching and 
to study hall supervision by chairmen can be computed. It 
will be obvious that, as a result of this computation, we can 
ascertain the amount of remaining time within which chair- 
men may supervise their departments, and discharge such 
other administrative duties as may be assigned to them. 

In the Larger High Schools 

Table XIII on page 47 shows (i) the average number of 
periods of teaching per week plus study hall supervision, 
done by chairmen of departments, and (2) whether addi- 
tional duties were assigned; in schools of over 1,000 pupils, 
in the February- June term, 191 1. 

The scale of figures at the left in Table XIII represents 
the average number of periods of teaching and study hall 
supervision. In column "a," under each one of the sub- 
jects, is given the number of chairmen who teach and super- 
vise study hall, the average number of periods per week 
shown in the scale at the left of the table. Under column 
"b," "v" indicates that other duties ^ were assigned and 
"o" indicates that no other duties were assigned. 

* These are duties other than those connected with the chairmanship 
of a department. 



Chairmen as Teachers 47 

Table XIII — 95 Chairmen of Departments 



•a 



■3 fl E 



a b'^ a b^ a b' a b^ a b" a b'^ a b<* a /»» 




< ^ 



1= 9 periods < = No data "= Data for Wadleigh High School '= 8 periods 

8 = 30 periods '' = 10 periods not clear, hence omitted 8 = 31 periods 

' = Latin is not offered in the High School of Commerce and the Commercial High School 

Inasmuch as the number of periods of teaching and the number of study 
periods vary among chairmen, the combined amount of teaching and study- 
hall supervision can be stated only in average numbers. For example: 
four chairmen of the English department teach eighteen periods each, but 
may be assigned a different number of study periods, say, one, two, three, 
and four periods respectively. The total number of study periods assigned 
is ten, with an average of 2.5 for each teacher. Eighteen periods of teach- 
ing, plus the average of 2.5 study periods, equals 20.5 periods, the average 
number of periods of definitely assigned teaching and study period work 
for each of these four teachers. 



48 Studies in High School Organication 

The line drawn through the table from left to right passes 
through the largest number of chairmen teaching and super- 
vising study hall any given average number of periods per 
week. For example : four is the largest number of chair- 
men in English who teach and supervise study hall any aver- 
age number of periods. This average number of periods of 
teaching and study hall super^-ision is eighteen. Hence, 
eighteen is the most frequent average number of periods 
of teaching and study hall supen-ision carried by chairmen 
of the English department. 

There are, however, three chainiien in this department 
who teach nine, fifteen, and seventeen periods, respectively, 
and are assigned administrative duties besides. It should be 
noted, also, that there are live chairmen in this department 
who teach an average of twenty to twenty-two and live- 
tenths periods per week, and carry additional administrative 
responsibilities. 

This line, which is drawn through the average number of 
periods of greatest frequency in each department, passes 
from an average of eighteen periods in English, to twenty 
periods in Latin, to twenty-one and one-half periods in 
French and German, to twenty-one periods in mathematics, 
to twenty-one periods in biologv. to twenty-two periods in 
chemistry, to twenty-one and one-half periods in physics, to 
twenty periods in history. 

It is important to note that, in nearly every case, chair- 
men of departments are assigned administrative duties, as 
indicated in colimm ''b." in addition to the teaching assign- 
ment, the study hall assignment, and their duties as chair- 
men of departments. 

We are now in a position to point out the amount of re- 
maining time which each chairman of deparmient has over 
and above his teaching and his study hall assignments. Com- 
puting the whole number of periods of such remaining time 
( from the same data from which Table XIII. page 47, was 
prepared), we find that ninety-five chaimien in the twelve 



Chairmen as Teachers 49 

high schools with over 1,000 pupils, have a total of 443^ 
periods of such remaining time each week, or an average 
per chairman of 4.66 periods. It has already been pointed 
out that the number of periods of teaching assigned to 
chairmen of departments would seem to imply that chair- 
men are allowed sufficient time in which to perform their 
other duties; but the assignment of so many study periods 
to chairmen consumes their time to such an extent that 
they have only an average of 4.66 periods per week over 
and above their teaching and study hall assignments in 
which to perform other assigned duties. Although it has 
been shown that each chairman has an average of 6.70 
periods per week over and above his periods of teaching, 
this amount of time is reduced by an average of a trifle 
over two periods (2.04) per week of study hall supervision, 
so that each chairman really has 4.66 periods per week in 
which to perform other assigned duties. 

Referring again to the standard set by Associate City 
Superintendent Stevens of an average of 11.5 periods per 
week for these other assigned duties, it will be clear that 
these chairmen have only 40.5 per cent, of the time this 
standard contemplates. 



/;/ the Smaller High Schools 

Table XIV on page 50 shows ( i ) the average number of 
periods of teaching per week plus study hall supervision, 
done by chairmen of departments, and (2) whether addi- 
tional duties were assigned, in schools of less than 1,000 
pupils, in the February-June term, 191 1. 

This table ^ shows, for the smaller high schools, what 

' In this computation, all decimals were avoided. Those averages 
with decimals falling between i. and .4 inclusive were grouped with the 
next lowest whole number ; those averages falling between .5 and .9 
were grouped with the next highest whole number. For example, an 
average of 16.3 was grouped with the average 16.0 and 16.7 with 17.0. 

* For an explanation of how this table was prepared see p. 47. 



50 



Studies in High School Organisation 



Table XIV — 69 Chairmen of Departments 



Ifo 

Is- s 

n i~ 
n.o 
nr 

/ ?r 

Ifo 
nr 
3.0.0 
10 i' 
21 
2/. J' 

12. 

23.0 
2 3i' 

^'^ » 
■214 J- 
ii' d 
xi' r 
xc. 
it. J- 
270 

2 7.i' 




/ 




I f K 

i. 



t ^ 



6 

—0 c— 



J 




I J -^ — V— «- 



/ • Iff I a 10 



» •' 



i 



«i = no data 



Chairmen as Teachers 51 

Table XIII shows for the larger high schools. The line 
which is drawn through the average number of periods of 
greatest frequency in each department passes from an aver- 
age of twenty-one and five tenths periods in English, to 
twenty-five and five tenths periods in Latin, French and 
German, and mathematics, to twenty-three periods in biol- 
ogy, to twenty-five periods in chemistry, physics, and his- 
tory. 

Attention should be called to the fact that the chairmen 
in these smaller high schools are more generally free from 
responsibility for administrative duties than are the chair- 
men in the larger high schools. 

Table XIV brings out the fact that the work of eighteen 
chairmen in teaching and supervision constitutes an average 
of one period per week more work than regular teachers 
are expected to carry. Furthermore, thirty- five out of sixty- 
nine chairmen, or more than 50 per cent., are teaching and 
supervising study periods as much or more than the standard 
of twenty-five periods per week for regular teachers, leav- 
ing no time whatever for supervision of the work of other 
teachers in their departments. 

Computing the average number of periods of remaining 
time which a chairman of department has over and above 
his teaching and study hall assignments, we find that sixty- 
nine chairmen have a total of 116 such periods, or an aver- 
age of 1.68 periods per chairman in each high school with 
less than 1,000 pupils. Even though chairmen of depart- 
ments in these smaller high schools are assigned teaching 
so that each chairman has an average of 2.79 periods per 
week for other duties, the study hall assignments consume 
so much of that time that each chairman has an average of 
only 1.68 periods per week in which to supervise his depart- 
ment and to perform such other administrative functions as 
the principal may assign to him. This amount of time is 
only 19.76 per cent, of the time contemplated by the estab- 
lished standard. 



52 Studies in High School Organisation 

SUMMARY 

We have shown that : 

1. Over 75 per cent, of the chairmen in the larger high 
schools are teaching more periods per week than the maxi- 
mum standard fixed by Associate City Superintendent 
Stevens. 

2. Over 86 per cent, of the chairmen in the smaller high 
schools are teaching more periods per week than the stand- 
ard fixed by Associate City Superintendent Stevens for 
schools of this size. 

3. Teaching assignments to chairmen of departments in 
the larger high schools take so much of their time that each 
is left only 58.26 per cent, of the time the standard fixed by 
Associate City Superintendent Stevens contemplates. 

4. Teaching assignments to chairmen of departments in 
the smaller high schools take so much of their time that each 
is left only 38.82 per cent, of the time the standard fixed by 
Associate City Superintendent Stevens contemplates. 

5. Teaching and study hall supervision done by chair- 
men in the larger high schools consume so much time that 
chairmen have only 40.5 per cent, of the time for supervi- 
sion and administrative work that the standard fixed by 
Associate City Superintendent Stevens contemplates. 

6. Teaching and study hall supervision done by chair- 
men in the smaller high schools consume so much time that 
chairmen have only 19.76 per cent, of the time for supervi- 
sion and administrative work that the standard fixed by 
Associate City Superintendent Stevens contemplates. 

STANDARD TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS FOR CHAIRMEN 
OF DEPARTMENTS 

Thus far we have measured the practice in the various 
high schools of New York City by the standards generally 



Chairmen as Teachers 53 

agreed upon by the school authorities, or those definitely 
fixed by Associate City Superintendent Stevens. Are these 
standards satisfactory? 

1. The first standard which we have used is one quite 
generally agreed upon throughout the country, and in the 
city, but one which is not definitely incorporated in the by- 
laws or regulations of the Board of Education, or of the 
Board of Superintendents, viz., that twenty-five periods of 
teaching should constitute a week's work. 

2. The second standard is one fixed by Associate City 
Superintendent Stevens, and provides that the chairmen of 
departments in the larger high schools should teach from 
twelve to fifteen periods, and should devote the remainder 
of their time to the supervision of their departments and 
such other administrative work as the principal may assign 
to them. 

3. The third standard also is fixed by Associate City 
Superintendent Stevens, and provides that the chairmen in 
the smaller high schools should teach from fifteen to eight- 
een periods per week, and should devote the remainder of 
their time to other assigned duties, as in the case of chair- 
men in the larger schools. 

There are no well-established standards in the above cases. 
After visiting the schools, after many conferences with prin- 
cipals, first assistants and teachers, in view of the practice 
in other cities, and in view of the responsibility devolving 
upon the chairmen of departments in the high schools of 
New York City, we conclude that these standards are just, 
and should, therefore, be approximately maintained in 
practice. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE WORK OF CHAIRMEN AS ADMINISTRATIVE 

OFFICERS 

WORK AS ASSISTANT TO PRINCIPAL 

BEFORE the consolidation of the school system under 
the charter establishing Greater New York there were 
various administrative officers in the different high schools, 
known as head teacher, vice-principal, and assistant to the 
principal. These special titles were not recognized in the 
educational section of the new charter, but, by definition by 
the Board of Education, they have been included under the 
title of first assistant.^ Thus first assistants in the high 
schools have become assistant administrative officers. 

SCOPE AND CHARACTER 

The following topics ^ indicate the scope and character 
of the work of a first assistant ^ as an assistant to the prin- 
cipal in the administration of the school: 

1. Consulting with the principal in regard to the course 
of study and the educational policy of the school 
and general school problems, 

2. Handling discipline in the school. 

* The functions of the first assistants as chairmen of departments 
will be considered later. See p. 55. 

^ These topics and the topics concerning work of chairman on p. 57 
were furnished by a Committee of The Male First Assistants' Associa- 
tion. 

' The term first assistant is used here instead of the term chairman 
of department, because it as "first assistant" that the chairman of de- 
partment acts as an assistant administrative officer rather than because 
he is chairman of department. 

54 



Chairmen as Administrative Officers 55 

3. Reporting to the principal on the success of class and 
examination work. 

4. Rating of teachers for the information of the prin- 
cipal. 

5. Supervision of t?ie fire drill. 

6. Supervision of college entrance requirements and ex- 
aminations. 

7. Supervision of school activities — school paper, ath- 
letics, literary and other societies, exhibitions, par- 
ents' meetings. 

In addition to these executive, supervisory, and adminis- 
trative duties assigned to first assistants by the principal, 
other responsibilities are carried by them. Nearly every 
chairman of a department is in charge of an official class; ^ 
this means that he records the daily attendance, noting ad- 
missions and discharges, reports absences to the principal, 
sends notices to the parents of pupils who are absent, and, 
in general, has charge of the class. The chairman or first 
assistant also keeps all permanent records of the progress 
of the pupils in the official class during each term. In most 
of the high schools, as has already been shown, they are 
also assigned the supervision of study halls, on an average 
of 2.04 periods per week in the larger high schools and i.ii 
periods in the smaller schools. In addition, first assistants 
are usually placed in charge of different floors or halls 
throughout the school during the intermission between 
classes, before and after school, and during the noon period. 

WORK AS CHAIRMAN OF DEPARTMENT 

Responsibilities of the Chairman of a Department 

As has already been stated, the chairman of a department 
is responsible for organizing and supervising the work of 

* For a more extended account of the work of a teacher in charge of 
an official class, see p. 82. 



56 Studies in High School Organisation 

teachers in his department. Inasmuch as he has to deter- 
mine the efficiency of the teachers, he also has general super- 
vision of the progress of the pupils. Table XV shows the 
number of pupils and the number of teachers (exclusive of 
chairmen) in the departments of English, biology, Latin, 
and mathematics in the twenty high schools of New York 
City. 



Table XV 



High Schools 



English 



Biology 



Latin 



Mathe- 
matics 



DeWitt Clinton . . . 
H. S. of Commerce 

Stuyvesant 

Wadleigh 

Washington Irving, 

Morris 

Girls' 

Boys' 

Erasmus Hall 

Manual Training. . 

Commercial 

Eastern District. . . 

Bushwick 

Bryant 

Newtown 

Flushing 

Far Rockaway. . . . 

Jamaica 

Richmond Hill . . . . 
Curtis 



2946 

1933 
2229 
2779 
3804 

3225 
2969 

1834 
3015 

2840 

2399 
2766 

929 

945 
776 
580 
248 
920 

751 

878 



18 

I?- 

i7i 

25 

20 

16 

13 

2231 

171-0 

15 

T-7II 

122T 

5 
63^0 

1^ 
35 

3 

5 

5 
4 



1426 
1031 



1177 
760 

1115 
1230 

795 
1172 

1437 
781 
665 
816 

340 
205 
210 
69 
222 
119 
331 



9it 
4 



mo 



10 

3 

63^0 
9 
5 
II 

7 
4 

3 
I 

I3 

3 Tlfi 

■■■ss 

3 ±J1 
23 

I 
I 

tJ6- 



531 
1666 

235' 
1710 
1717 
1741 
2804' 
1370 



1247 
265 
238 
235 
289 
100 
393 
273 
364 



7M 



4 
14 

2 

13 
II 
22 
II 



3 

1^8 

I 

2 

123 

2^ 
2 



2549 
I77I 
2088 
2300 
I361 
2619 
2550 
1827 
2478 
2790 
2399 
I713 
929 

736 

453 
402 
144 
485 
369 
771 



7 
12 
16 

8 

14 
16 
II 

I5i? 
18 

7 
9 
3 
2 

2 
I" 

3 
2 

4* 



^ Including Greek. " No chairman. 

' One, and less than two, whole teachers in the department. 

These figures were taken from the budget blanks filed by the 
principals of the high schools on June 12, 191 1. The figures are for 
March 31, 191 1 



This table shows the responsibility carried by chairmen 
of departments in the high schools of New York City. For 
example : in the Girls' High School, in the English depart- 



Chairmen as Administrative Officers 57 

ment, there are 2,969 pupils and sixteen teachers ; in biol- 
ogy there are 1,230 pupils and nine teachers; in Latin there 
are 1,717 pupils and thirteen teachers; in mathematics there 
are 2,550 pupils and sixteen teachers. These figures show 
that the chairman of one of these departments carries as 
large a responsibility as the principal of most high schools 
throughout the country; and it should be added that few 
principals are called upon to do any teaching. 

The chairman of a department in the main building of a 
school which has annexes is also responsible for the work 
of his department in the annexes. In many cases, however, 
the annex is so far from the main building that several 
hours are necessary to make the trip and visit any classes. 
It can be readily seen, therefore, that a head of department 
needs a large amount of time to discharge properly this 
responsibility. As far as we have been able to ascertain, 
there is not much supervision of the work in the annexes by 
heads of departments in the main building. This is one of 
the inevitable results of the system of "annexes" which 
exists in New York City. 

The following topics indicate the scope and character of 
the work of the chairman of a department: 

1. Supervision of class teaching. 

2. Maintenance of an esprit de corps in the department. 

3. Outlining of class work and ground to be covered. 

4. Setting of examination papers for examinations 
within the school and supervision of correction. Re- 
reading the doubtful papers. Supervision of "con- 
dition" examinations. 

5. Conducting regents' examinations — program, care of 
record, correspondence, recording marks, rereading 
doubtful papers. 

6. Consulting with students in regard to program. 

7. Directing and presiding at departmental meetings 
once a month. 



58 Studies in High School Organisation 

8. Making arrangements for classes during the absence 
of teachers. 

9. Making requisitions for apparatus, text-books, and 
suppHes. 

10. Supervision of the distribution, collection, and care 
of text-books., 

11. Supervision of the yearly inventory of books, ap- 
paratus, and supplies. 

We agree with the chairmen of departments in saying 
that the most important function of those enumerated above 
is the supervision of class teaching and the general direction 
of the work of the department. In order that chairmen of 
departments may have the time in which to supervise and 
direct the work of the department (and to perform other 
assigned administrative work) they are relieved of teach- 
ing.^ However, they state that altogether too little super- 
vision of classroom instruction is being done, owing to the 
fact that their time is taken up with so many general ad- 
ministrative duties.^ Failure to perform these administra- 
tive duties assigned by the principal is apparent at once, 
and hence it is but natural that first assistants should give 
the administrative duties first consideration rather than 
slight them to supervise the work of teachers. The super- 
vision can be neglected without evil effects becoming ap- 
parent at once, or even for a considerable time. The teach- 
ers naturally make no complaint if they are not supervised 
and criticized, and the result is that supervision, rather than 
especially assigned administrative duties, is neglected. 

Bad Results from Lack of Supervision 

It is agreed among chairmen of departments that there is 
need of much more supervision than they are able to carry 

*For amount, see p. 42 and the discussion following. 
^ For a list of these administrative duties, see p, 54 and the discussion 
following. 



Chairmen as Administrative Officers 59 

on under present conditions. Some of the most serious 
results of the lack of adequate supervision are the follow- 
ing: 

1. "Snap judgments" have to be made by first assist- 
ants because they are required to judge the efficiency of 
instruction given by teachers without adequate time for 
securing information upon which to base a judgment. 

2. Lack of coherence arises in the work of a depart- 
ment as to policy and methods of instruction. Young teach- 
ers need to be trained in order to cooperate properly with 
other teachers in the department. A chairman of a history 
department stated that there had been an entire change of 
the five teachers in his department within the last five years. 

3. Substitutes temporarily employed cannot be given 
necessary help to insure the satisfactory progress of their 
pupils. 

4. Lack of supervision results in dilatory methods on 
the part of teachers. 

5. Inability to give adequate supervision makes it im- 
possible for the chairman to disseminate good teaching 
throughout the department. 

6. Uniformity in grading and promoting pupils by the 
teachers of the department cannot be secured unless proper 
supervision exists. 

It should be further noted that a large amount of cleri- 
cal work devolves upon the chairmen of departments, which 
many of them through pressure of time are driven to pay 
for having done for them. This clerical work is not the 
same in all schools, but the following list indicates the 
reports and other clerical work which are required of first 
assistants in one or more of the high schools of the city : 
monthly report, annual report, regents' report, special re- 
ports to the City Superintendent, associate city superin- 
tendent, district superintendent, and others, training school 
certificates, certificates of completion of the course for the 



6o Studies in High School Organisation 

candidates for graduation who fail to secure diplomas, 
payrolls and checks, list of pupils in new grades at end of 
the term, preparing copies of questions for examinations. 

Many of these duties are performed wholly or in part by 
assistant teachers also. The objectionable feature is the 
same, whether performed by a first assistant or a teacher. 
This work might be performed as well by less highly paid 
employees, and the time of teachers devoted to teaching or 
supervision. 

The undesirable results of the present arrangement for 
clerical work may appear in either, or both, of the following 
ways: 

1. Time may be formally assigned to such teachers as 
perform these services, and credited on the school program. 
For example: on the present program of the Flushing 
High School twenty periods are formally assigned for such 
work which, with other duties of the same nature, takes 
the full time of one teacher. In other words, the school 
might be conducted with one less assistant teacher, salary 
$2,500, if there were a clerical assistant, salary $1,250. 
Further, the work performed by such a clerical assistant 
would be much more efficient, since the clerical assistant 
would render continuous service for seven hours a day, 
while the time of teachers consists of scattering periods of 
forty-five minutes at a time, with a total of about four 
hours a day, as the equivalent of one teacher's time. 

2. If time is not formally allowed on the school pro- 
gram for any of these duties, but they are, nevertheless, 
performed by teachers, the result is necessarily a lessened 
efficiency in the performance of professional duties. In 
other words, the time taken for these general duties lessens 
the amount of time which each teacher needs to maintain 
his class work at the maximum efficiency. 

If all the duties that could as well be performed by a 
clerical assistant were so assigned, either more periods of 



Chairmen as Administrative Officers 6i 

teaching could be assigned to teachers than at present with- 
out lowering the present efficiency of instruction, or the 
present standards of efficiency in teaching could be raised; 
in either case the expense to the city would be decreased. 

Time Needed for Supervision 

In view of the testimony of chairmen of departments in 
the New York City high schools, and the general practice 
in other cities, we conclude that a chairman of a depart- 
ment should spend at least two periods per month in the 
classroom of each teacher. At least so much is needed to 
gather the information necessary to enable him to make 
constructive criticisms of the teaching, and to supervise the 
progress of pupils. This is the present practice in some of 
the high schools of the city. It seems to be a satisfactory 
minimum, because : 

1. One who supervises, for purposes of constructive 
criticism of and helpfulness to the teacher, should spend the 
whole of a recitation period in the classroom, in order that 
he may see the lesson as a whole. 

2. Judgment of a teacher's ability should not be based 
upon observations mado during a single recitation, whether 
the result is favorable to the teacher or otherwise. 

3. The chairman of a department should make at least 
two visits per month to each class for the purpose of 
observing the progress of pupils. 

4. Most of the high schools of New York City are so 
large that it is practically impossible for the principal to 
visit each teacher enough to enable him to make the con- 
structive criticisms which should grow out of supervision. 
Twelve of the twenty high schools of New York City have 
sixty or more teachers. In a school of sixty teachers it 
would take the principal twelve weeks to visit each teacher 
once, if he systematically visited one period each day during 
that time. Demands upon the principal's time in these 



62 Studies in High School Organisation 

large schools are so great that he is prevented from doing 
much systematic visiting of classes. Therefore, it becomes 
exceedingly important that heads of departments have suffi- 
cient time for this supervision, and, further, the time for 
doing it effectively. 

To allow each chairman two periods per month for each 
teacher in his department would not reduce the amount of 
teaching which chairmen of departments are now doing. 
On the contrary, the total amount of teaching done by chair- 
men of the department of English, for example, under the 
proposed plan, would exceed the number of periods of 
teaching now done by these same chairmen by exactly one 
period each. But, as will be pointed out later, it will be 
necessary to reduce the amount of clerical and adminis- 
trative work which chairmen of departments are now doing, 
in order to give them the amount of time necessary for 
proper supervision. As will also be pointed out later, this 
work should be performed by clerks and teachers who draw 
much lower salaries than chairmen of departments. 

This plan has the distinct advantage of fixing much more 
definitely than is now fixed a reasonable amount of time 
for supervisory purposes. Further, it fixes this amount of 
time for supervision in accordance with the number of 
teachers in the department to be supervised. 

Table XVI on page 63 shows (i) the number of periods 
of teaching done by the chairmen of the department of Eng- 
lish in each of the high schools of New York City; (2) the 
number of teachers in the department, exclusive of chair- 
men; and (3) approximately the number of periods of 
teaching which each chairman would do under the pro- 
posed plan. 

From the following table it will be readily seen that it is 
not the amount of teaching which chairmen are now doing 
that interferes with the supervision of their departments, 
because, as has been shown, they are relieved from enough 
teaching at present to supervise in a satisfactory manner. 
What interfere with their supervision and teaching are 



Chairmen as Administrative Officers 63 

Table XVI 



High Schools 



X 



DeWitt CUnton . . . 
H. S. of Commerce 

Stuyvesant 

Wadleigh 

Washington Irving. 

Morris 

Girls' 

Boys' 

Erasmus Hall 

Manual Training. . 

Commercial 

Eastern District . . . 

Bushwick 

Bryant 

Newtown 

Flushing 

Far Rockaway . . . . 

Jamaica 

Richmond Hill .... 
Curtis 

Totals . . . 



15 
16 
18 
15 
15 
9'' 
14 
19 
15 
19 
17 
20 
24 

19 
22 

19 
25 
15 
19 

18 



18 
9 

iiH 

i7i 

25 

20 

16 

13 

22i? 
1 7 1^0 
15 
1^2 I 

5 

63^0 
3l 

5 
5 
4 



(20) 
(10) 
(12) 
(20) 

(25) 

(20) 

(16) 

(14) 

(25) 

(20) 

(15) 

(14) 

(6) 

(8) 

(4) 

(4) 

(2) 

(6) 

(6) 

(4) 



15 
20 

19 
15 
12 

15 
17 
18 
12 
15 
17 
18 
22 
21 
23 
23 
24 
22 
22 
23 



353 



373 



^ Column "c" contains figures which show approximately the amount 
of teaching which the chairman of the department of English in each 
of the high schools would do under the proposed plan. These figures 
are only approximate because of the nature of the computation. For 
example : in DeWitt Clinton High School the chairman of a de- 
partment of eighteen teachers would be allowed thirty-six periods per 
month for supervision. There are twenty teaching days in each 
month. Hence, each day the chairman would have 1.8 periods, if the 
computation is made exact. It will be clear that, under these circum- 
stances, one fifth of a period, or nine minutes, could not be as profita- 
bly spent at anything else as it could be in supervision. 

Therefore, the figure in column "c" is the one based upon such a 
number of teachers in the department as will make unnecessary the divi- 
sion of a period between supervision and other work. This figure for 
DeWitt Clinton High School is twenty. The figures in column "X," 
on which these approximations were based, were included to show, 
first, the basis of the computation for the figures in column "c," and, 
second, that the computation was always for a number of teachers 
equal to or greater than the number now employed as indicated in 
column "b." 

^ The chairman of the English Department has charge of the general 
office work of the school. 



64 Studies in High School Organization 

their assignments of study hall supervision; the amount of 
clerical work connected with the administration of their 
several departments; and, most seriously of all, the necessity 
on their part of assuming obligations for some of the gen- 
eral administrative work of the school as a whole. The 
importance of all this work cannot be minimized and some 
of it requires high executive ability. A large part of it, 
however, could be performed by teachers who draw less 
salary, and a considerable part of it could be performed by 
a moderately salaried clerk. Chairmen of departments 
should be relieved from this work in order that their ener- 
gies may be spent in the higher services of supervision and 
direction of class teaching, and the performance of the more 
important duties connected with the general administration 
of the school. 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

In view of the foregoing, the following recommenda- 
tions are made : 

1. The chairman of a department should, as in the case 
of other teachers, be allowed one free period each day. 

2. The chairman of a department should be allowed 
two periods each month for the classroom visits and super- 
vision of each teacher in his department. 

3. If the chairman of a department is assigned adminis- 
trative duties (as first assistant), his number of teaching 
periods should be correspondingly reduced, in order that he 
may still have the required amount of time for the satisfac- 
tory supervision of his department. 

4. The chairman of a department should be relieved, as 
far as possible, from all purely clerical work, which work 
should be performed by additional clerks. 

5. First assistants should be relieved, as far as possible, 
from supervising study halls, and, except occasionally, also 
from an official class, in order that their time may be de- 
voted to a higher grade of professional work. 



The Work of Other Teachers 



CHAPTER IX 

PERIODS OF TEACHING AND STUDY HALL 
SUPERVISION 

THE work of a teacher^ may be twofold — (i) periods 
of teaching and (2) other assigned duties. 
In the time at our disposal it has been necessary to limit 
our study of the amount of teaching and other work done 
by teachers to the departments of English, German, mathe- 
matics, biology, and history. Our purpose has been, on 
the one hand, to limit the scope of the study sufficiently to 
cover only essential details, and, on the other hand, to make 
it sufficiently comprehensive to cover typical work done by 
the teachers in the high schools throughout the system. The 
departments named have been selected because ( i ) they are 
found in nearly all the high schools; (2) they are repre- 
sentative of the different departments of study in the high 
school; (3) they cover subjects which are required only in 
the first year, and subjects which are offered only beyond 
the first year. 

PERIODS OF TEACHING 

Teachers of English, German, Mathematics, Biology, 
and History 

Table XVII shows the number of periods taught by 
teachers (exclusive of chairmen) of English, German, 
mathematics, biology, and history in all the high schools. 

^ The word "teachers" is used in this section of the report to include 
all teachers below the rank of chairman of department, whether that 
chairman was a first assistant or not. In a few cases, in the smaller 
high schools, where there was only one teacher in a department, the 
number of periods of teaching of that teacher have been included. 

67 



68 Studies in High School Organisation 



J 





"o 1 

CO 1 


o 


o 


o 


O 


o 


o 


1 


ON 1 M o o o o 


1 '" 




M 1 


1 


00 1 M N 1-1 1-1 O 


1 "^ 




0) 1 


1 


t^ 1 O O rC i-i O 


1 '^ 




C^ 1 


1 


\£) 1 M O '^O O 


1 ^ 




(N 1 


1 




M r^ioONN 


»o 




M iOtHi 




■* 1 00 Tf CO O lO 


1 "=> 




n 1 M rO 


1 o 


rO 1 i-i t-^ f^ \0 rO 


1 2: 




M 1 w (^ 


1 -* 


N 1 00 1-1 1-1 to O 


1 <^ 




N 1 M i-i 




►I 1 rO i-i On w O 


I ^ 


JH 


CS 1 "^ i-i "^ 


1 o^ 


O 


n O •^ 0< CO 


1-^ 




iO CO tS CO 11 


>o 


0\ 1 UD Tt- 1-^ '* (S 


1 2. 


o 


w 1 r> 


1 ^ 


00 1 ro cq M fO lO 


I ''^ 


m 
'd 


1-H 1 1-H 


1 o 


t^ 1 VO O O O CO 


1 "^ 


o 




1 


\0 1 O O i-i CO fC 


1 ""^ 


P-i 


h-1 1 M 


1 1-1 


lO 1 o o c< -^ o 


1 '^ 


o 


1^ 1 


1 


Tl- 1 o o o o o 


1 ° 


J3 


l-H 1 


1 


CO 1 o o o o o 


1 ° 


s 


*^ 1 


1 


C) 1 n o o o o 


1 ^ 


hH [ w b o o o 


1 " 




^ 1 


1 


o 1 o o o o o 


1 o 




>— < 1 




0^ 1 O O O O O 


1 ° 


00 1 o o o o o 


I ° 


i^ 1 O O O O M 


i - 


vO 1 >-i o o o o 


I " 


to o o o o o 


I ° 


tJ- O O 1-1 o o 


1 - 




Jl 


















-1 


















u 
















^ 




































s 






05 






E 


H 






'+3 
03 




o 

H 






^ s S >^> 
















"6 

C 


3 a 


II 


J c 
5S 




1 

4 





•;3 O 

4) 0) 

'S3 

en ■(-> 

<U 0-1 -u 
O " <D 

"« 3 JJ 2^ 






CLi ^ -^ 



;: ^ w a; 

M-i t-. -r; -(-5 

CI S^ <U 

^ 8 






a 

o 
o 

•c 



U./ (-4 



CO 



■^ O s. D 
Oi rJ^+J 

*^o^ a 
- :3 c-' CIS « 



Periods of Teaching 69 

This table shows great variation in the number of peri- 
ods of teaching done by teachers in the departments named : 

In EngHsh the number of teaching periods per teacher 
ranges in the several groups from a minimum of six to a 
maximum of thirty-four periods. The number of periods 
most frequently taught by any group of English teachers 
is twenty. 

In German the number of teaching periods per teacher 
ranges in the several groups from a minimum of eighteen 
to a maximum of twenty-eight periods. The number of 
periods most frequently taught by any group of German 
teachers is twenty-five. 

In mathematics the number of teaching periods per 
teacher ranges in the several groups from a minimum of 
four to a maximum of twenty-eight periods. The number 
of periods most frequently taught by any group of mathe- 
matics teachers is twenty-five. 

In biology the number of teaching periods per teacher 
ranges in the several groups from a minimum of fifteen to 
a maximum of twenty-eight periods. The number of peri- 
ods most frequently taught by any group of biology teachers 
is twenty. 

In history the number of teaching periods per teacher 
ranges in the several groups from a minimum of seven to 
a maximum of twenty-five periods. The number of periods 
most frequently taught by any group of history teachers is 
twenty-one. 

It will be seen that the number of periods most fre- 
quently taught by any group of teachers in each department 
is as follows : 

Teachers of English 20 periods 

" " German 25 " 

" " Mathematics 25 " 

" " Biology 20 " 

" " History 21 

Twenty periods of teaching per week is the number of 
periods most frequently taught by any of the 671 teachers 



70 Studies in High School Organisation 

in these departments — 151 teachers are teaching that num- 
ber. It should be noted, however, that almost as many, or 
145 teachers, are teaching twenty-five periods per week. 
The following computations are based on Table XVII: 
15-50% are teaching less than 20 periods 



22.50% " 




20 " 


14-01% " 




21 " 


7-75% " 




22 " 


7-30% " 




23 " 


8.94% " 




24 " 


21.61% •' 




25 " 


2.39% " 


" more " 


25 " 



100.00% 

Table XVII shows that 82.11 per cent, of the teachers 
under consideration are teaching from twenty to twenty- 
five periods; that 15.50 per cent, are teaching less than 
twenty periods; and that 2.39 per cent, are teaching more 
than twenty-five periods. 

It would be wrong to conclude that teachers are doing 
too little teaching, even though the figures in Table XVII 
do show that 15.50 per cent, of the 671 teachers are teach- 
ing less than twenty periods. Some teachers are doing 
work in the general office, or are responsible for other 
administrative work; and this work they cannot do unless 
their number of periods of teaching is correspondingly re- 
duced. Further, teachers are usually assigned study hall 
supervision and other additional duties (these additional 
duties will be discussed later ; see page 80 and ff.) ; hence, 
this work must be considered, together with the teaching, 
before any valid conclusion can be reached concerning the 
amount of work which teachers are doing. 



Teachers of English Separately 

Associate City Superintendent Stevens directs ^ that 
teachers of English be assigned twenty or twenty-one peri- 
ods of teaching per week, and all other teachers from 
* See note, p. 42. 



Periods of Teaching 71 

twenty to twenty-five periods. It is necessary, therefore, to 
differentiate between teachers of EngHsh and teachers in 
other departments in order to measure the practice in 
schools by these standards. 

Table XVIII (see page 72) shows the number of periods 
taught by 226 teachers in the departments of English in all 
the high schools. 

This table shows that, of the 226 teachers of English, 
fifty-eight, or 25.6 per cent., are teaching less than twenty 
periods ; that seventy-three, or 32.3 per cent., are teaching 
more than twenty-one periods; and ninety-five, or 42 per 
cent., are teaching twenty or twenty-one periods — the stand- 
ard fixed by Associate City Superintendent Stevens. The 
most frequent number of periods taught by any group of 
teachers of English is twenty ; about four fifths as many 
teachers are teaching twenty-one periods. 

Since only 42 per cent, of the teachers are teaching ac- 
cording to the established standard, it is natural to ask : 
Why does not the practice in the schools conform more 
closely to that standard? It is clear that, if the instruc- 
tion in English entails so much more labor than instruction 
in other subjects as to require a lower maximum standard 
by four periods of teaching than the standard for other 
teachers, the schools ought not to require 32 per cent, of 
the teachers of English to teach more than that maximum 
standard. If twenty-one periods are considered by the 
Department of Education as a maximum standard, in the 
same sense that twenty-five periods are considered a maxi- 
mum standard for other teachers, the Department should 
provide enough teachers of English to make it possible to 
maintain approximately that standard. 

On the other hand, why are 25.66 per cent, of the 226 
teachers of English teaching fewer than twenty periods? 
It is the practice to assign relatively more periods of study 
hall supervision to teachers of English to give them the 
opportunity during that time to correct some of the many 



72 Studies in High School Organisation 





o 1 


o 


1 




to 1 




o^ 1 


l-l 




N 1 




00 1 


w 




cq 1 




t^ 1 


o 




<N 1 




vO 1 


N 




P) 1 






in 1 


01 




N 1 


01 




■* 1 


00 




M 1 




rO 1 


l-t 


tuO 


N 1 


hH 


c 


M 1 


00 


^ 


01 1 


01 


w 1 


ro 




01 1 


-d- 


o 1 
M 1 


01 
lO 


c^ 1 


ID 


o 




01 


00 1 


rO 








T3 

o 






1^ 1 


VO 








0) 








^ 1 


O 




Ah 




l-H 


lO 


O 


o 


■-1 






"* 


o 




t-i 




CO 


o 


;3 


^~* 




01 


01 


2 








^ 


h-i 






1-1 




o 


o 




HH 




ON 


o 


00 


o 


t^ 


o 


o 


'-' 


lO 


o 


Tt- 


o 






o- 








u 






(U 






^ 






o 






c3 






lU 






+j 






O 






t-i 






<u 






^ 






B 






3 






2 


^ 1 



Q 




o 1 


o 


o 


o 


o 


1 ° 


1 


Z 




ro 1 




1 


<: 


ON 1 


o o o o 


1 c> 






oi 1 




1 




00 1 
01 1 


Ol l-H 1-1 O 


1 '* 




«^ 1 


O CO l-H O 


1 ^ 


Q 




01 1 








VO 1 


O "^O o 


1 '^f' 


D 




0« 1 




1 


m 


lO 

01 


J^iOOnN 


CO 


Iz 




in '*i-i 


01 


1—4 


'^^ 1 


Tj-coo in 


1 f^ 




N 1 


11 01 


1 m 


fO 1 


t-» 01 vO CO 


1 <» 


1 


W) 


01 1 


0( 


1 CO 


1 

oi 
O 


N 1 
01 1 


1-1 1-1 CO 0^ 

1-^ 


1 "* 

1 N 


^ 1 


1-1 ONW O 


1 '-' 


J5 
o 


Ol 1 


ii CO 


1 in 


ifi 


o 1 


. O '^OJ c^ 


1 <^ 


X 




01 1 


CO 01 CO n 


1 ON 


ON 


rM^rJ-01 


I ""^ 


a 

Iz; 




i-t 




1 11 


o 


00 


04 >-< coir 


1 " 


< 










t^ 


O O O c<- 


1 '^ 


vO 


O w COC 


1 *" 


o 




•^ 






J 


lO 


O 01 ^o 


I ^ 


o 


6 


^H 




1 


m 




o o o o 


1 ° 


h1 


CO 


o o o o 


1 ° 


01 


o o o o 


1 ° 


t-l 


o o o o 


1 o 


i^ 


l-H 




1 


o 


o o o o 


1 ° 














ON 


o o o o 


1 ° 


00 


o o o o 


1 ° 


'z 
< 

« 
w 
O 


I^ 


O O O 1-1 


1 " 


VO 


o o o o 


1 ° 


in 


o o o o 


1 ° 


fe< 


Ti- 


O 11 o o 


1 " 


o 


























« 


















W 


















53 


















u 


















<c 


















a 


















H 




n 














»o 




















< 


J 














1 


c 
( 

e 






CO 

o 




o 


1— 1 








-l-> 




H 


X 

u 

J 






C3 OJ SC 


•^ 
















5ii rt o t 










c 


5^ 


;ff 


itr 


1 





Periods of Teaching 73 

papers which fall to the lot of such teachers. This state- 
ment will receive further discussion later. 

Table XVIII shows that only 42 per cent, of the teachers 
of English are teaching according to the standard fixed by 
Associate City Superintendent Stevens. 

Teachers of German, Mathematics, Biology, and History 

Table XIX shows the number of periods taught by 445 
teachers in the departments of German, mathematics, bi- 
ology, and history in all the high schools. (See page 72.) 

Of these 445 teachers, forty-six teachers, or 10.3 per 
cent., are teaching less than twenty periods, the minimum 
standard fixed by Associate City Superintendent Stevens; 
twelve teachers, or 2.y per cent, of the total number, are 
teaching more than twenty-five periods, the maximum 
standard established by Associate City Superintendent 
Stevens ; 387 teachers, or 86.96 per cent, of the total num- 
ber, are teaching from twenty to twenty-five periods. In 
other words, practically 87 per cent, of the teachers are 
assigned teaching in accordance with the established stand- 
ard. The most frequent number of periods taught by any 
one group of teachers is twenty-five periods, with about 
three fourths as many teachers teaching twenty periods. 

TEACHING AND STUDY HALL SUPERVISION 

Teachers of English, German, Mathematics, Biology, and 

History 

Of the other assigned duties, study hall supervision is 
the only one which can be stated in terms of teaching 
periods. Inasmuch as it occupies regularly a considerable 
portion of the teachers' time, it should be considered. 

Table XX (see page 74) shows the average number of 
periods of teaching and study hall supervision done by 671 
teachers in the departments of English, German, mathe- 
matics, biology, and history in the high schools of New 
York City. 



74 Studies in High School Organisation 



671 Teachers 



English 



Table XX ^ 

Main Buildings and Annexes 
Number of Teachers of 



German Mathematics Biology 



History 



ft « 










1 


1 LS- 












n " 












n.s- 


• 








» 


1 i 












MS 












i<\.0 












Its- 


S 


• 








10 












yO.S- 


2 


• 








2.1 












ai sr 












ai a 










1 


12 i"- 


11 


- 


x' 




+ 


2 3.6 


1 








1 


13 i" 


1 2> 


^ 






1 y 


3^, 


— f 7- 


"vr 


1 


^ 


i 


ii* i" 


,^i) 


0\v 








ai'o 


3 t 





\jt 





3 1 


iri" 


< a, 


•^ 




— 


H t 


Jt 


't- 


■- 






i> 


3(.-S- 












Sil" 


' 3t. 


^ 


> y 


• 


9 


b7 •' 










1 1 


AS 


2 





/ / 





7 


>8 r 


U- 





2 


•^ 




M 


1 





1 






■11 y 













it s- 



#1—1 with 34. 



#2—1 with 4. 



4 
3 

.-2 0- 

/ t 

3 



77 



I 3 



^ nr 
#3—1 with 7. 



* For an explanation of the method according to which this table 
was prepared, see footnote accompanying Table XIII, page 47. 



Periods of Teaching 



75 



The line drawn through this table, from left to right, 
passes through the largest number of teachers in each de- 
partment who teach and supervise study hall any given 
average number of periods. This line passes from an 

DIAGRAM 

6yi Teachers Main Buildings and Annexes 

Average Number of Periods of Teaching plus Study-Hall Supervision 



r I 1 t «• /» // It '> /v /J /t n 



In 

hi 






I' 1< II 55 J* « i» n i> M »• II 5> 5J >1 



!•.♦?.■ 



'"7. ■ 



x 



^£1 



J1J2 



'»« 



W 



76 Studies in High School Organisation 

average of twenty- four periods of teaching and study hall 
supervision in English, to twenty-five and one half periods 
in German, to twenty-five and one half periods in mathe- 
matics, to twenty-five periods in biology, to twenty-four 
and one half periods in history. It should be noted that 
nearly all the teachers of English teach and supervise study 
hall from an average of twenty-two and one half to twenty- 
seven periods per week, while the average amount of teach- 
ing and study hall supervision done by teachers in the de- 
partments of German, mathematics, biology, and history 
is equal to, or higher than, that in English. 

In column "b" is shown the fact that over 50 per cent, of 
these teachers are assigned duties ^ in addition to teaching 
and study hall supervision. 

The preceding diagram, on page 75, shows the facts of 
Table XX in graphic form. 

This diagram shows very strikingly that teachers are 
being assigned teaching and study hall supervision accord- 
ing to the maximum standard of twenty- five periods per 
week. There are only sixteen teachers, or 2.4 per cent, of 
the 671 teachers, who teach and supervise study halls less 
than an average of twenty periods per week. Two hun- 
dred and seventy-eight teachers, or 41.4 per cent., are 
doing an average of more than twenty-five periods of teach- 
ing and study hall supervision. Three hundred and sev- 
enty-seven teachers, or 56.2 per cent, of the 671, are teach- 
ing and supervising study halls from twenty to twenty-five 
periods per week. In marked contrast to the conclusions 
which might have been reached had we considered only the 
item of teaching, we now reach the conclusion that about 
75 per cent, of 671 teachers are doing an average of twenty- 
five or more periods of teaching and study hall super- 
vision, or the maximum standard of twenty-five periods of 
work per week. When one considers that over 50 per 
cent, of these teachers are also carrying other administra- 

^ The discussion of the character of these duties will be found on 
page 80. 



Periods of Teaching 



77 



tive and clerical responsibilities, it becomes clear that the 
total work of these teachers is approximating closely to the 
standard of twenty-five periods per week. 

Teachers of English 

Thus far we have been considering the amount of teach- 
ing and study hall supervision done by 671 teachers as a 
group. In order to measure actual practice in the schools 
by the standard fixed by Associate City Superintendent 
Stevens, it is necessary to separate the teachers of English 
from the teachers of other subjects, because, as already 
stated, different standards are fixed for these groups. 

Table XXI shows the average number of periods of 
teaching and study hall supervision done by teachers of 
English in the high schools of New York City. 



Table XXI — 226 Teachers of English — Main Buildings and Annexes 





Average Number of Periods of Teaching Plus Study- 
Hall Supervision 




15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 


25 


26 


27 


28 


29 


30 


31 


32 


33 


34 


Number of 
Teachers 

















5 


2 





2360 

1 


76 


14 


32 


2 


5 


1 





5 





I 



Certain facts are brought out by this table : ( i ) no 
teacher of English is carrying on an average less than 
twenty periods of teaching and study hall supervision; (2) 
only seven teachers, or 3.09 per cent, of the whole number, 
are carrying an average of twenty or twenty-one periods 
of teaching and study hall supervision; (3) 219 teachers 
of English, or 96.9 per cent., are carrying an average of 
over twenty-one periods of teaching and study hall super- 
vision; sixty teachers of English, or 26.5 per cent., are 
carrying an average of more than twenty-five periods of 
teaching and study hall supervision. 



78 Studies in High School Organisation 

Table XXI is the basis for the following statements: 
(i) that 33.6 per cent, of the teachers of English are 
carrying an average of twenty-five periods of teaching and 
study hall supervision; (2) that 26.5 per cent, are carrying 
twenty-four periods; (3) and that 90.7 per cent, of the 
teachers of English are carrying from twenty-three to 
twenty-seven periods of work. It now becomes clear, also, 
that, even though teachers of English are supposed to have 
fewer teaching periods than other teachers, their combined 
work of teaching and study hall supervision approaches 
very closely the maximum standard of twenty- five periods 
per week for all teachers. 

Teachers of German, Mathematics, Biology, and History 

Table XXII shows the average number of periods of 
teaching and of study hall supervision done by teachers of 
German, mathematics, biology, and history in all the high 
schools. 



Table XXII — 445 Teachers of 
History — Main 


Serman, Mathematics, Biology, and 
Buildings and Annexes 




Average Number of Periods of Teaching Plus 
Study Hall Supervision 




^15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 


25 


26 


27 


28 


29 


30 


31 


Number of Teachers. . 





2 


4 


8 











15 


18 


46 


132 


131 


26 


45 


9 


5 


2 



^ I teacher with 4 periods, and i with 7 periods. 

This table brings out the following facts : ( i ) sixteen 
teachers, or 3.6 per cent, of the whole number, are carrying 
an average of less than twenty periods of work; (2) 218 
teachers, or 48.98 per cent, of the whole number, are carry- 
ing an average of over twenty-five periods of work; (3) 



Periods of Teaching 79 

211 teachers, or 47.41 per cent., are carrying, on an average, 
between twenty and twenty-five periods of work. 

The facts of Table XXII may also be stated in the fol- 
lowing points : ( i ) that 29.7 per cent, of these teachers 
are carrying an average of twenty-five periods; (2) that 
29.4 per cent, are carrying an average of twenty-six peri- 
ods; and (3) that 92.8 per cent, are doing from twenty- 
two to twenty-eight periods of teaching and study hall 
supervision. It now becomes clear, also, that nearly half 
of the teachers in the departments of German, mathematics, 
biology, and history are doing more than twenty-five peri- 
ods of work in teaching and supervision of study hall. 
When to this amount of work we add their other assigned 
duties, it is again obvious that the total amount of work 
done by these teachers is considerably above the standard 
of twenty-five periods per week. 



CHAPTER X 
OTHER DUTIES ASSIGNED TO TEACHERS 

SCOPE AND CHARACTER 

IN accordance with the authority vested in the principals 
by the by-laws of the Board of Education, they have 
assigned duties other than teaching and study hall super- 
vision to over 50 per cent, of the 671 teachers under con- 
sideration. It is impossible to state in terms of teaching 
periods the amount of time which these duties consume, 
and it is very difficult to estimate, in a definite way, the 
care devoted by teachers to these other assigned duties. 
However, they play such a large part in the administration 
of high schools that it is important and necessary to con- 
sider them. 

The character of these duties is illustrated by the fol- 
lowing assignments:^ Teachers are put in charge of cor- 
ridors, basements, and yards during the noon recesses, and 
they are placed in charge of the corridors during the pass- 
ing of classes; they are assigned charge of sororities, fra- 
ternities, school publications, athletics of various kinds, 
arrangements for the assembly, the making of the school 
program, preparation of regents' credentials, supplies, 
books, rifle team, library, lunch room, orchestra, glee club, 
infirmary, and bulletin boards. They also act as coaches 
for the various athletic teams, as prefects of classes, and 
grade advisers. A careful consideration of the character 
of these functions shows that they are almost exclusively 

^ These items were taken from the "Program of Daily Recitation" 
sheets furnished the Department of Education by the principals of the 
high schools in February or March, 191 1, and are the actual assign- 
ments made by principals to teachers during that term. 

80 



Other Duties Assigned to Teachers 8i 

administrative, and not clerical functions. It cannot be 
expected, therefore, that they can be performed by the pres- 
ent clerks in the principals' offices; further, the very size of 
the list indicates that the principals cannot perform them. 
Take, for example, the preparation of regents' creden- 
tials. While this work involves some clerical work, the 
making out of these papers requires an intimate knowledge 
of the course of study and the organization of the school 
such as the present clerks in most of the high schools do not 
possess. One who has charge of this work must be familiar 
with the changes in the time allotments of subjects in the 
course of study over a considerable period of years, because 
very frequently pupils who attended the school several years 
previously call for these credentials. It will be obvious, 
therefore, that the discharge of even this duty, which ap- 
pears on the face of it to be clerical, requires knowledge 
which a teacher rather than a clerk can with reason be ex- 
pected to possess. 

CLASSIFICATION OF THESE DUTIES 

A general classification of these administrative duties 
will show that some of them are (i) regular as to amount 
and distribution of time required, such as hall, basement, 
yard, and library duty; (2) regular as to distribution of 
time, but varying as to amount, such as preparation of the 
daily program, attention to late students, arrangements for 
regents' examinations, and general charge of the lunch 
room; (3) varying both as to amount and distribution of 
time, such as charge of supplies, textbooks, orchestra, fra- 
ternities, sororities, student publications, glee club, rifle 
team, and acting as coach for the athletic teams, work as 
grade adviser, or prefect of class. Although it is impossi- 
ble to assign a time value to these duties, yet the responsi- 
bility borne by a teacher to whom they are assigned is, in 
most cases, such that the principal is bound to consider it in 
allotting periods of teaching to such teacher. 



82 Studies in High School Organization 

Most teachers in the high schools have also charge of an 
official class.^ Each official class teacher, as a rule, per- 
forms the following or similar functions : - 

1. Keeping a record of the attendance of pupils. This 
involves (a) recording and reporting attendance ; (b) com- 
puting the average monthly attendance; (c) keeping a list 
of parents and pupils, and their addresses, and notifying 
parents of pupils' absences; and (d) keeping an excuse 
book for absences, (e) It also involves, in some schools, 
issuing "admits" to classes after an absence, 

2. Care and distribution of text-books and supplies. 
Besides the general supervision of the proper use of books, 
this involves (a) keeping a card, or book list, of all books 
given out; and (b) receipting for the books when returned. 
Classroom work is seriously interfered with at times by 
pupils getting books when they enter late in the term, or 
by pupils who return books before leaving school. 

3. Copying records. This means (a) making in dupli- 
cate (in some schools, triplicate) the promotion cards of 
each pupil; (b) copying program cards of each pupil; (c) 
copying report of each pupil for parents twice or three 
times each term; and (d) copying marks of each pupil on 
permanent record cards. 

4. Having charge of discipline of pupils in the official 
class. In most schools the official class teacher has charge 
of the conduct of the pupils in the official class during the 
day. 

5. Disseminating school notices and general informa- 
tion. The teacher in charge of an official class is the gen- 
eral administrative agency for that group of pupils. In 
some schools this includes supervising the progress of 
pupils, while, in others, grade advisers do that work. 

^ An official class is for administrative purposes. A teacher may, but 
usually does not, teach his or her official class. 

" This statement is based upon a report made by a Committee of the 
Women High School Teachers' Association to the Committee on 
School Inquiry. 



Other Duties Assigned to Teachers 83 

6. Looking after wardrobes and lockers; issuing keys, 
replacing lost keys, and canceling receipts at the close of 
the term, or when the pupils leave school. 

7. Counseling pupils about their election of studies and 
progress in their work, together with other general admin- 
istrative duties. 

The official class seems to be a necessary part of the 
organization of large high schools, because it brings about 
harmony and unity of action. It seems to be a satisfactory 
method of bringing the pupils into direct contact with the 
administrative agencies of the school. But the danger is 
that these lesser, but none the less essential, duties of an 
official class teacher will interfere with the real work of 
the teacher, namely, teaching. Just so far as the time, 
strength, and vitality of the teacher are taken for other 
work, whether necessarily or otherwise, just to that extent 
the work of teaching must be reduced in amount, or suffer 
in quality. Of course, under such circumstances, the re- 
sults of faulty administration are felt by the pupils. 

With the marvelous growth of the high schools the 
amount of necessary administrative and clerical work has 
enormously increased. This work is naturally divided 
among the principal, teachers, and clerks. It is high time 
to take account of the amount and kind of work which 
each is doing, with a view to giving to each those functions 
for which he is paid, and for which he is supposed to be 
particularly qualified. 

A study of the amount of time devoted to the above 
work in six high schools shows that, in general, teachers in 
charge of official classes are giving to it an average of five 
hours per week each term. The practical questions are 
these: Can this work be most effectively done by teachers? 
Is it interfering with the effectiveness of teaching? Could 
some of it be satisfactorily performed by others at a lower 
cost? It would appear, from the above enumeration of 
functions performed, that the teacher in charge of an offi- 



84 Studies in High School Organization 

cial class has been made increasingly responsible for clerical 
and administrative duties until the real function of a 
teacher, that of guiding and assisting individual students in 
their work, has been largely lost sight of. The situation 
suggests the need of careful analysis as a basis for action. 



SHOULD THESE FUNCTIONS BE ASSIGNED TO TEACHERS OR TO 
SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS? 

It has been shown that there is a great deal of work 
in each high school, apart from teaching, which is at pres- 
ent assigned to teachers. It is important to consider 
whether this work should continue to be assigned to teach- 
ers, or whether some of it could be performed better by a 
special administrative officer. The principal now distrib- 
utes this work to teachers, as far as possible, in accordance 
with their fitness to do it. It often happens, however, that 
there is no teacher who is particularly well qualified to 
perform a certain function, or, if such a teacher is found, 
he or she may not be available for that work at that par- 
ticular time. If there were in each school one or more 
administrative officers, who possessed administrative and 
executive ability, this difficulty would be overcome. 

It will be clear that some of the duties must from their 
nature always remain in the hands of the teaching force. 
For example : the general supervision of the corridors for 
the maintenance of order requires the attention of several 
teachers in different parts of the building at the same time, 
and it is a duty, therefore, which could not economically be 
assigned to persons other than teachers. On the other 
hand, such duties as the charge of sororities, fraternities, 
school publications, or athletics might all be centralized 
under the direction of one person. 

The advantage of having teachers in charge of these ad- 
ministrative functions lies in the fact that the teachers are 
thereby gaining valuable insight into the administration of 
the school and increasing their teaching efficiency. Fur- 



Other Ditties Assigned to Teachers 85 

ther, some of these duties are so closely connected with 
the life and work of the school that a distinct loss would 
result if they were taken out of the hands of the teaching 
staff. On the other hand, the danger of assigning these 
duties to teachers lies in the fact that the amount of such 
work assigned to them may interfere seriously with their 
teaching. It is quite generally agreed among principals 
that, unless the major part of the time and thought of a 
teacher is given to actual instruction, the assuming of re- 
sponsibility for administrative functions is likely to pre- 
vent effective teaching. For example : a teacher who 
teaches from six to ten periods per week (there are several 
such cases in the high schools of New York City), and 
gives the remainder of his time to administrative work, is 
likely to make administrative work the object of most con- 
cern, and his teaching may in consequence be seriously im- 
paired. It would seem clear, therefore, that, if these duties 
are to be distributed among teachers, such a distribution 
should be among as many different teachers as possible, in 
order ( i ) to bring about the cooperation of each teacher 
in the general administration of the school, and, further, 
(2) to avoid the necessity of assigning to any teacher an 
amount of admimstrative work which would diminish the 
value of his class instruction. 

The advantage of having a separate officer (assistant 
principal, secretary, or chief clerk) to perform these ser- 
vices would consist in the greater efficiency with which 
these functions could undoubtedly be performed by one 
possessing administrative and executive ability. Such an 
officer would always be available at once for service, and, 
hence, for speed and effectiveness would be superior to the 
teacher. For immediate results, the assistant executive offi- 
cer would thus be more advantageous, but, from the larger 
point of view of the welfare of the school, it is better that 
the teachers should assume these administrative functions. 
Hence, we recommend that these administrative functions 
should continue to be assigned to teachers. 



86 Studies in High School Organization 

In our conferences with high school principals our atten- 
tion has been repeatedly called to two facts : ( i ) that the 
clerks furnished to the principal's office are too few in 
number, and often incompetent; and (2) that the Depart- 
ment of Education refuses to recognize that there is any 
considerable amount of administrative and clerical work in 
the high schools which the principal ought to ask teachers 
to perform. We have been unable to examine the work of 
the clerks to determine its quality. From the amount of 
clerical work in the principal's office, and from the fact that 
so much work of this kind is required from teachers and 
first assistants, we conclude that the number of clerks is 
insufficient. As to the second matter, it is undoubtedly true 
that principals are at present forced by circumstances to 
assign many clerical functions to teachers and to relieve 
them correspondingly of teaching, even though it may be, 
in some cases, in direct violation of the instructions of the 
Department of Education. 

The solution of this difficulty lies in the recognition, on 
the part of the Department of Education, of the fact that 
the administrative functions enumerated above are the only 
legitimate functions for teachers to perform. The princi- 
pals and the Department of Education should then differ- 
entiate carefully between clerical and administrative work. 
After a division of the clerical and administrative func- 
tions has been made, the schools should be provided with 
enough competent clerical assistants to perform the clerical 
work. The principals would thus be left free to assign to 
teachers administrative duties, in accordance with the pres- 
ent by-laws, and to relieve such teachers from their teaching 
for this purpose. It is absurd to require teachers to per- 
form clerical work which could be better done by clerks at 
from one third to one half the salary. It is equally ab- 
surd to expect teachers to do a full day's work in teaching 
and then to perform administrative functions after school 
hours, or as "odd jobs." 



Other Duties Assigned to Teachers 87 

HOW MUCH TIME OF THE TEACHING STAFF SHOULD THE 

PRINCIPAL HAVE AT HIS DISPOSAL FOR ADMINISTRATIVE 

PURPOSES? 

If principals are to assign these duties to members of the 
teaching staff, they ought to be at liberty to assign them 
to those members of the teaching staff who are best quali- 
fied to perform them, whether they be first assistants or 
teachers of lower rank. The principal is held responsible 
by the educational authorities for the administration of his 
school, and, consequently, ought to have authority, within 
reason, to employ the members of his teaching staff in the 
most effective manner. 

The amount of administrative work which principals 
must delegate to members of their teaching staff varies ac- 
cording to the size and character of the schools. Any 
standard, therefore, which provides the principal with the 
time of his teaching staff for administrative purposes must 
take this fact into consideration. After a conference with 
the principals of the high schools on this matter, they pro- 
posed the following schedule, which we approve, and recom- 
mend for adoption. 

The amount of time (in teaching periods) of the teaching 
staff which the principal should have at his disposal for 
administrative purposes in high schools of from 1,000 to 
4,000 pupils is 

1,000 pupils 15 periods 

1,500 " 20 

2,000 " 30 

2,500 " 35 

3,000 " 40 

3,500 " 45 

4,000 " 50 

The apparent fear, on the part of some, that positions of 
teachers to whom these duties are assigned, and whose 
teaching periods are correspondingly reduced, will develop 
into sinecures does not seem to us to be well founded, inas- 
much as the principals of the high schools can be held as 
strictly to account for the use they make of this time as 



88 Studies in High School Organisation 

they can for the amount of teaching which each teacher 
now does under their direction. 



SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

We may summarize the foregoing discussion as follows : 

1. Of the 671 teachers under consideration, 15.50 per 
cent, are teaching less than twenty periods; 82.11 per cent, 
are teaching from twenty to twenty-five periods; and 2.39 
per cent, are teaching more than twenty-five periods. 

2. Of the 226 teachers of English, 25.66 per cent, are 
teaching less than twenty periods per week; 2)^.7, per cent, 
are teaching more than twenty-one periods; and only 42 
per cent, are teaching twenty or twenty-one periods — the 
standard fixed by the Department of Education. 

3. Of the teachers of German, mathematics, biology, 
and history, 10.3 per cent, are teaching less than twenty 
periods; 2.y per cent, are teaching more than twenty-five 
periods; and 86.96 per cent, are teaching from twenty to 
twenty-five periods — the standard fixed by the Department 
of Education. 

If study hall supervision is added to teaching, the follow- 
ing results are obtained : 

1. Of the 671 teachers, 2.4 per cent, are doing less than 
twenty periods of work; 41.4 per cent, are doing more than 
twenty-five periods of work; and 56.2 per cent, are doing 
from twenty to twenty-five periods of work. 

2. Over 50 per cent, of all the teachers have adminis- 
trative duties to perform in addition to teaching and study 
hall supervision. 

3. Of the teachers of English, none are doing less than 
twenty periods of teaching and study hall supervision; 3.09 
per cent, are doing twenty or twenty-one periods of work; 
96.90 per cent, are doing over twenty-one periods of work; 



Other Duties Assigned to Teachers 89 

26.5 per cent, are doing over twenty-five periods; and 33.6 
per cent, are doing twenty-five periods. 

4. Of the teachers in other departments under con- 
sideration, 3.6 per cent, are doing less than twenty periods 
of work; 48.98 per cent, are doing more than twenty-five 
periods of work; and 47.41 per cent, are doing from twenty 
to twenty-five periods. 

Our analysis of the work done by teachers has led us to 
the following conclusions and recommendations : 

1. Over 15 per cent, of the teachers under considera- 
tion are teaching less than the minimum standard — twenty 
periods — because they are doing work other than teaching. 
Are not some of these teachers doing too little teaching? 
We recommend that the Committee on High Schools of 
the Board of Superintendents ^ investigate the question and 
report to the Board of Superintendents. 

2. If to teaching we add study hall supervision, we find 
that only a trifle over 2 per cent, of the teachers are doing 
less than twenty periods; and that over 41 per cent, are 
doing more than twenty-five periods of work (i. e., they do 
not have a free period each day). Are not some of these 
teachers doing too much work? We recommend, as before, 
that the Committee on High Schools of the Board of 
Superintendents investigate the question and report to the 
Board of Superintendents. 

3. In addition to teaching and study hall supervision, 
over 50 per cent, of the teachers have other assigned duties. 

4. We find, on examination, that some of these other 
assigned duties are purely clerical, and that a large part 
of them are administrative. 

^ In view of the fact that Professor Elliott recommends that the 
Board of Superintendents be abolished, and that a Bureau of Investi- 
gation and Appraisal be constituted in its stead, the matters in this 
report referred to the former Board vv'ould naturally be taken up by 
the latter. 



go Studies in High School Organisation 

5. We recommend that the principals and the Board 
of Superintendents differentiate very definitely between 
what is clerical and what is administrative work. 

6. We recommend (a) that the principal of each high 
school be furnished a sufficient number of competent clerks 
to perform the clerical work, and (b) also, that the princi- 
pal of each high school be definitely allowed a certain por- 
tion of the time of his teaching staff for the discharge of 
such administrative functions as he finds it necessary to 
assign to them. 



Administrative Control of the High Schools, as It 
Affects Internal Organization 



CHAPTER XI 

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTERNAL 

ORGANIZATION OF THE HIGH 

SCHOOLS? 

OUR studies of the size of sections, the work of teach- 
ers, and the courses of study have brought into promi- 
nence certain questions of administration which affect 
directly the internal organization of the high school. For 
example, in our study of the size of sections, we have 
found that there were small sections which could apparently 
have been avoided by a better distribution of pupils; and 
there were large sections which could apparently have been 
reduced by the employment of additional teachers. Are 
the principals, in the preparation of their daily programs, 
making the most effective distribution of pupils in sections, 
both from an economic and an educational point of view? 
Why are not more teachers employed to reduce over-size 
sections, or, at least, to make it possible for the principal 
to maintain approximately the established standard size of 
sections? Again, in our study of the work of teachers, we 
found that the first assistants are assigned so much teach- 
ing and administrative work that they have little time for 
their work as chairmen of departments. Why are not more 
teachers provided so that first assistants may have the 
time needed for their work as chairmen of departments? 
Certain administrative questions grow out of Profes- 
sor Davis' study of the courses of study in the high schools : 
What is the plan of the Board of Superintendents (i) in 

93 



94 Studies in High School Organisation 

determining the program of studies ^ for a given high 
school; (2) in fixing the prescribed work and the elective 
work in a curriculum; (3) and in fixing the time allot- 
ments? (4) What is the most effective method of prepar- 
ing courses of study? (5) What is the best type of high 
school for New York City? 

Lastly, there are at least two important general questions 
of high school administration which must be considered, 
namely: (i) the proper size of high schools for New York 
City; (2) the effect of the size and number of classrooms on 
the organization of the high school. 

Satisfactory answers to all the foregoing questions under- 
lie effective high school organization and administration. 
It will be observed that the principal of the school is respon- 
sible for conditions suggested in some of the questions, and 
the Department of Education ^ for the others. These ques- 
tions will be considered from the standpoint of the agencies 
which control effective high school organization, dividing 
that general topic into two parts: (i) the principal in his 
responsibility for making the daily program; and (2) the 
Department of Education in its responsibility for (a) the 
program of studies; (b) the size of the school; (c) the size 
and number of classrooms; and (d) the number of teachers 
employed. 

* We are using the terminology adopted by the Committee on College 
Entrance Requirements : "Three distinct terms seem to be needed : 
(i) Program of studies, which includes all of the studies offered in a 
given school ; (2) curriculum, which means the group of studies 
schematically arranged for any pupil or set of pupils; (3) course of 
study, which means the quantity, quality, and method of the work in 
any given subject of instruction." Report, p. 42. 

' I. e., The Board of Superintendent? and the Board of Education. 



CHAPTER XII 
THE PRINCIPAL AND THE DAILY PROGRAM * 

IT would at first appear that the principal is the most 
important agency in determining the size of recitation 
sections in his school, since it is he who determines into 
how many sections the pupils taking a given term's work 
shall be divided. Indeed, our study of the size of sections ^ 
in certain selected schools has shown that some principals, 
in making their daily programs, have been responsible for 
organizing both large and small sections in the same term's 
work, each of which could have been avoided by a different 
distribution of pupils. This raises the question of making 
the daily program by the principal.^ The making of the 
daily programs in the various high schools has not been 
the subject of a special study for two reasons: (i) the 
lack of time after the need of such a study was revealed, 
and (2) the fact that the general administrative control is 
in many cases such as to limit the possibility of the princi- 
pal's making an effective daily program. 

(i) Our study of the size of section, of the work of 
teachers, and of the general administration of the high 
school system brought to light the need of a special study of 
the daily programs. After these studies had been com- 
pleted the time at our disposal did not permit a study of 
how to make a daily program. 

^ The daily program is the schedule of class recitations, room assign- 
ments of classes, and teaching assignments, followed each day for one 
term in a given school. 

^ As shown on pp. 16, 21 and 25. 

* Or by the person or persons to whom he delegates that function. 

95 



g6 Studies in High School Organization 

(2) The principal, however, does not control all the 
factors which affect the organization of his school. He is 
subject to the regulations as to the standard size of section 
and the standard amount of work for teachers fixed by 
the Board of Superintendents. The organization of his 
school also depends on the program of studies, the size of 
the school, the size and number of classrooms, and the 
number of teachers employed. The Department of Edu- 
cation, the Board of Superintendents, or the Board of 
Education, separately, is charged in the by-laws ^ with the 
responsibility for each of these factors. How, then, we 
may ask, has the Department of Education discharged its 
responsibility in these respects? 

It may be here stated that there is not a high school in 
New York City which is satisfactory, or which approxi- 
mates in any degree to a satisfactory condition, with respect 
to the program of studies and the conditions under which 
it is made. The time allotments for studies in every course 
of study in the high schools are haphazard, and show no 
well-conceived plan to make possible an effective daily pro- 
gram for a school. While the size of most school build- 
ings is already very large, an attempt is being made in 
every one of them to care for many more students than the 
building was designed for. As a result, there is a dearth 
of satisfactory classrooms; pupils are being accommodated 
in unsatisfactory rooms in main buildings or in annexes. 
The size of sections ranges very small and very large as a 
direct result. The method of increasing or decreasing the 
number of teachers in a department of study by creating 
new teaching positions, or by declaring "teachers in ex- 
cess," does not provide teachers where they are needed, and 
leaves teachers in schools where their services are not 
needed. This unfortunate condition arises from the fact 
that the data on which such reorganizations are based are 
inadequate. 

^By-laws, Board of Education, 1909: Section 40, paragraphs 7, 8, 9; 
section 21, paragraph 7; section 16, paragraph i. 



The Principal and the Daily Program 97 

In view of these conditions it is impossible to credit the 
effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the organization of any- 
high school to the principal. The factors affecting that 
organization do not lie so much within the province of the 
principals as in the authority above them, viz., the De- 
partment of Education. Improvements in high school or- 
ganization and administration must be made, in a large 
part, by the authority in general control of the high school 
system.^ 

The effective internal organization and general adminis- 
tration of the high schools in a school system depends upon 
several agencies. As has been stated, it depends not only 
on the principal, but also on all the administrative authori- 
ties who exercise control over high schools. This joint 
responsibility of the principal and the administrative au- 
thorities requires that the principals and the Department 
of Education should work together for the solution of prob- 
lems common to both, and in attempting to bring about 
satisfactory conditions throughout the high school system. 

General administrative control of the high schools is 
effective when it renders satisfactory the conditions affect- 
ing the work of teachers and pupils. For instance, effective 
administration would provide a sufficient number of high 
schools of satisfactory size to meet the needs of the com- 
munity which the school system is to serve ; it would pro- 
vide the different kinds of education needed by the differ- 
ent types of pupils ; and it would provide a sufficient number 
of teachers so that ( i) no teachers would be required to do 
an unreasonable amount of work, and (2) a reasonable 
size of sections could be maintained. 

General administrative control is successful when it pro- 
motes effective internal organization of the high schools, 
and thus provides the education which each pupil needs; 

* See Professor Moore's book, How New York City Administers Its 
Schools, and Professor Elliott's book on City School Supervision: 
A Constructive Study Applied to New York City, both in the School 
Efficiency Series. 



98 Studies in High School Organisation 

it is unsuccessful when, through neglect or unwise action, 
it prevents or hinders effective internal organization. In- 
effectiveness in organization, or in administration, no mat- 
ter what the cause, must inevitably result in injury to the 
pupils. 

In order that the general administrative direction or con- 
trol of the high schools may be most effective, there must 
be well-conceived plans, methods, and purposes, worked 
out on the basis of the educational needs of the community 
to be served. For example, the administrative agency 
which prepares the courses of study for the high schools 
must do so on the basis of the knowledge which comes 
from having seen specific needs. A course of study must 
be not merely a logical, well-organized body of facts; it 
must also be selected and organized to serve a well-defined 
purpose. 

Again, the amount of teaching, or other work, which 
teachers should do each week should be fixed after the ad- 
ministrative agency has seen specifically what teachers are 
doing, how effective their work is, and whether it is legiti- 
mate work for teachers to perform. On the basis of this 
knowledge, the amount of work teachers may reasonably 
be expected to do can be wisely fixed. 

Thus every act of the controlling administrative agency 
should be based on knowledge which comes from direct 
contact with the schools, principals, teachers, and pupils. 
The agency which determines the size of recitation sections, 
the size of classrooms, the proper size of high school for 
New York City, the best type of high school for New York 
City, and the location of high schools, must be in sufficient 
contact with the schools to see what the pupils need. 

The high school principals should play a prominent part, 
not only in the internal organization of their respective 
schools, but also in the general administration of the high 
school system, since they are nearer to the actual problems 
of education than either the Board of Superintendents or 
the Board of Education. The knowledge which the prin- 



The Principal and the Daily Program 99 

cipals and teachers possess should be regularly utilized in 
all general administrative matters affecting the internal 
organization of the high schools. Improvement in the or- 
ganization and administration of high schools must come 
through an organization in which principals and teachers 
shall not only be permitted, but required, to contribute the 
results of their experience and knowledge to the solution 
of high school problems. 



SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

The following is a summary of our findings and recom- 
mendations on the principal's responsibility for the daily 
program. We find : 

1. That the principals are responsible for the organiza- 
tion of recitation sections in their respective schools. 

2. That some of the principals have organized large and 
small sections in the same term of work, each of 
which could have been avoided by a different distribu- 
tion of pupils. 

3. That the effective organization of the schools, as to 
number and size of sections, by the principals is di- 
rectly affected by factors controlled by the Depart- 
ment of Education. 

4. That these factors are the program ("course") of 
studies, the size of school, the size and number of 
classrooms, and the number of teachers employed. 

We recommend: 

That a thoroughgoing investigation be undertaken of 
program-making by the principals. This investigation 
should be made by a committee of high school principals 
and a committee of the Board of Superintendents work- 
ing together. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ^ AND 
THE PROGRAM OF STUDIES ^ 

IT has been found that the number of pupils in sections 
in upper terms, even in the largest high schools, 
is inevitably small as compared with those in the first 
terms, and this, too, in schools with one curriculum. If 
there are two or three differentiated curricula, obviously 
the divisions of pupils must be more numerous, and the 
number of pupils following each curriculum must be cor- 
respondingly reduced. As the number of pupils following 
a curriculum is reduced, it is obvious that the possibility and 
probability of small sections in upper terms of work are 
increased. If this be so, then the sections in the high 
school with only one curriculum for a given number of 
pupils can be more effectively organized than in the school 
with two or more curricula. 

Has the Board of Superintendents consid- 
ered the extent to which the larger number of 
curricula ("general," "commercial," "manual 

training," " ") in a school 

increases the number of small sections, and, 
hence, increases the amount of teaching to be 
done to care for a given number of pupils? 

* The Department of Education — i. e., the Board of Superintendents 
and the Board of Education. The Board of Superintendents is dis- 
cussed by Professor E. C. Elliott in his volume, City School Super- 
vision, in the School Efficiency Series, and the Board of Education by 
Professor Moore in How New York City Administers Its Schools, in 
the School Efficiency Series ; hence, the discussion here will have to 
do only with high school administration, as it affects the internal or- 
ganization of the high school. 

^ The programs of study in the various high schools are the subject 

lOO 



The Department and the Program loi 

Again, it is obvious that the greater the number of 
subjects open to election by pupils in a given term of 
work, the more numerous will be the divisions of pupils, 
and, hence, the greater the probability of an increase in 
the number of small sections in the upper terms. Small 
sections increase the per capita cost of instruction. And 
yet this more expensive instruction may produce commen- 
surate educational returns because better adapted to the 
needs of pupils. 

Has the Board of Superintendents con- 
sidered to what extent, if any, the number of 
electives in a curriculum increases the cost of 
instruction, and whether the increased cost, 
if any, produces commensurate educational 
returns ? 

Still further, a heterogeneous time allotment,^ such 
as is found in New York City high school curricula, in 
which subjects are offered, some one period, some two 
periods, some three periods, and so on up to six periods, 
or, in the case of manual training, eight periods, per week, 
creates a situation in which it is extremely difficult to make 
a satisfactory daily program for a school. The daily pro- 
gram is to the school what the time table is to the railroad. 
All factors which affect the daily program bear a direct 
relation to the effectiveness of the instruction, and to the 
economic organization of the school. 

Has the Board of Superintendents fol- 
lowed any well-conceived plan in determining 
the time allotments for high school subjects? 
Has it considered the daily program of the 
school in determining time allotments? 

of the volume by Professor C. O. Davis on High School Courses of 
Study in the School Efficiency Series ; hence, only certain questions of 
administration will here be raised concerning the curricula of the 
various schools. 
^ See Professor Davis' volume in the School Efficiency Series. 



102 Studies in High School Organisation 

The lack of any evidence in the printed documents of 
the Board of Superintendents, together with the state of 
affairs which we find in the schools, leads us to answer these 
questions dogmatically in the negative. 

In connection with our discussion of the program of 
studies, it is pertinent at this point to make certain recom- 
mendations concerning a method of preparing courses of 
study, and the best type of high school for New York 
City. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

I. On preparing courses of study. The courses of 
study should be subjected to continual ^ revision and modi- 
fication by committees of high school principals and teach- 
ers, and a corresponding committee of the Board of Super- 
intendents, working together. Those best qualified to judge 
the administrative effectiveness of the courses of study are 
the principals, together with those to whom they delegate 
the task of program-making. Those best qualified to judge 
the educational effectiveness of the courses of study are 
those who teach them and those who directly supervise 
that teaching. With the high educational and professional 
standards for appointment to the New York City high 
schools, the teachers are well qualified and competent, both 
in training and in experience, to take a prominent part in 
such work. There is every reason, therefore, for including 
the principals and teachers in the committees which have 
under consideration the revision of the courses of study, 
because each can contribute essential points of view which 
can be obtained by the Department of Education in no 
other way. By such a method of revision, the princi- 
pals' knowledge of administrative difficulties and the prac- 

^ Of course, this does not mean that a course of study shall be 
changed at any time, and by any self-constituted critic. Such a revi- 
sion would certainly result in demoralization. It does mean that a 
course of study should be at all times the subject of careful, sympa- 
thetic criticism by all those who have anything to do with organizing 
or administering it, and that it should be changed gradually. 



The Department and the Program 103 

tical experience of the teachers would be brought to bear 
upon the choice of subject matter, the purpose, and the 
feasibiHty of the courses of study. The above recommen- 
dation contemplates more than the inviting of individual 
teachers in the various high schools to assist the Board 
of Superintendents in the occasional revision of courses 
of study. It contemplates the establishment of regular 
channels of communication between organizations of prin- 
cipals and teachers through which the workers in the 
schools may always find an approach to the central edu- 
cational authorities. And, on the other hand, it contem- 
plates that such communications shall receive attention, and 
form the basis for cooperative consideration. Only by 
some such method of utilizing the experience of principals 
and teachers can the system of high schools profit by its 
mistakes and its successes in making courses of study. 

2. On the best type of high school for New York City. 
Should it be the cosmopolitan high school, offering several 
different curricula, or should it be a specialized high school, 
devoting itself to one line of work for a particular group 
of pupils, or should the high school system contain both 
types? To put the matter more specifically, should the 
typical high school of New York City be Bryant, in which 
there are a "general course," a "manual training course," 
and a "commercial course," or should the typical school be 
a specialized high school, examples of which are Boys' 
High School, Brooklyn (largely college preparatory), Stuy- 
vesant High School, Manhattan (technical and scientific), 
and the High School of Commerce, Manhattan? The an- 
swer to this question involves not only the effective internal 
organization of the school, but it also involves the whole 
policy of the Board of Superintendents and the Board of 
Education, concerning the size, number, and character of 
the high schools of the city. If the high school buildings 
hereafter constructed are built as large as the present high 
school buildings, it is obvious that fewer such schools will 
be built than if they were built half the present size. The 



104 Studies in High School Organization 

number of high schools which are scattered throughout the 
city determines the proximity of pupils to high schools. 
As the number of schools increases, high schools are inevi- 
tably brought nearer to the school population to be served. 
The matter of the size and number of high schools is well 
stated by Superintendent Maxwell : ^ 

"It is beyond question that a large number of small or 
moderate-sized high schools, situated so as easily to ac- 
commodate populous neighborhoods, will attract a larger 
number of high school students and will, other things 
being equal, give a better education (that word being 
used in its widest sense) than a small number of very 
large high schools, widely separated and accommodating 
an equal number of students." 

The chief disadvantage of the specialized high school is 
that it may require pupils to travel long distances. The 
means of travel and the areas of congested population in 
New York City tend to minimize, if not to overcome, this 
disadvantage. In some sections of the city, as in the pres- 
ent case of Far Rockaway or Staten Island, it may always 
continue to be advantageous to provide only one high 
school to serve a community. But, in general, all things 
considered, the specialized type of high schools seems to 
us best. 

We favor the specialized type of high school with a 
single curriculum for New York City for the following 
reasons : ( i ) it can be more effective educationally be- 
cause (a) its whole activity is concentrated on a single 
purpose, and (b) all of the work can be made to conform 
to the specific purpose of the school in a way that it could 
not if the school undertook to serve more than one purpose; 
(2) the specialized type of school can be more effectively 
organized and, hence, more economically administered, be- 
cause (a) all pupils in a given school will be pursuing more 

^ From Eleventh Annual Report of the City Superintendent of 
Schools, of the City of New York, for year ending July 31, 1909, 
pages III and 112. 



The Department and the Program 105 

nearly the same line of work, and (b) the classes will not 
be so nearly depleted in the upper terms as they now are in 
various schools having more than one curriculum.^ 

3. On the cjuestions raised. We recommend that each 
one of the questions raised above (pp. loo-i) be the sub- 
ject of thoroughgoing study by the Board of Superin- 
tendents and the Board of Education to the end that the 
future policy of the Department of Education may be 
based upon adequate data. 

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

The following is a condensed summary of our findings 
and recommendations on the Department of Education's re- 
sponsibility for the program of studies. We raise these 
questions : 

1. Has the Board of Superintendents considered the ex- 
tent to which the larger number of curricula ("gen- 
eral," "commercial," "manual training," ". . . 

.") in a school increases the number of small 
sections, and, hence, increases the amount of teaching 
to be done to care for a given number of pupils? 

2. Has the Board of Superintendents considered to what 
extent, if any, the number of electives in a curriculum 

* It appears from press reports of educational meetings in New York 
City that this paragraph has been misinterpreted. At least some 
school people seem to have taken the paragraph to mean that we 
recommended the specialized high school as the best type for New York 
City. A careful reading of our recommendations will show that this 
is not so. In the above paragraph we merely expressed our educa- 
tional opinion. At present there is no fact-basis for deciding the im- 
portant educational question of the relative efficiency of the specialized 
and the so-called cosmopolitan high school. What we did recommend 
was that the educational authorities of New York City make a compara- 
tive study of the relative economic and educational cMcieucy of the 
different types of high school now existing in New York City and such 
new ones as may be established with a view to settling this important 
question — at least for New York City. The question cannot be settled 
by theoretical arguments followed by a formal vote of "yeas" and 
"nays." 



io6 Studies in High School Organisation 

increases the cost of instruction, and whether the in- 
creased cost, if any, produces commensurate educa- 
tional returns? 
3. Has the Board of Superintendents followed any well- 
conceived plan in determining the time allotments for 
high school subjects? Has it considered the daily pro- 
gram of the school in determining time allotments? 

We recommend : 

1. That each question raised above be the subject of an 
investigation by the Board of Superintendents in 
order to determine : 

a. Whether, educationally and economically, there 
should be a single curriculum or several curric- 
ula in one high school. 

b. Whether the number of electives increases the 
cost of instruction and, if so, whether the educa- 
tional results are commensurate with the in- 
creased cost. 

c. A plan for assigning time allotments to subjects 
which shall take into consideration not only the 
educational value of each subject, but also 
whether it admits of making a satisfactory daily 
program. 

2. That the courses of study and curricula be subjected 
to continual but gradual revision and modification by 
committees of high school principals and teachers, and 
corresponding committees of the Board of Superin- 
tendents working together. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE 
SIZE OF HIGH SCHOOLS 

THE effectiveness of the organization of a high school 
depends also upon the size of the school. A stand- 
ard size of section cannot be as closely approximated in a 
high school with 500 pupils as it can be in a high school 
with 1,500. There will be relatively fewer students in 
each term of work in every subject in the smaller school.^ 
The problem in the small school is to get enough pupils to 
make sections of reasonable size; the problem in the large 
school (and this is largely the problem in New York City) 
is to keep the sections small enough for effective work. 

Has the Department of Education consid- 
ered the effectiveness of instruction in, and 
administration of, the larger high schools, as 
compared with the smaller schools, in order 
to determine upon a future policy? 

The size of the high schools in New York City will be 
discussed as follows: (i) What is the proper size of a 
high school in New York City? (2) What is the present 
size of high schools in New York City? (3) Our recom- 
mendations. 

* To illustrate : a group of fifty pupils in a given term's work 
would not be unusual, but these pupils should always be divided into 
relatively small sections for instruction. The number of such sections 
in the smaller high school will inevitably be relatively large. In the 
large high school there will be several sections of pupils in nearly 
every department of study, and the size of section, therefore, is more 
largely within the control of the principal, and a given standard can be 
more nearly maintained. 

107 



io8 Studies in High School Organization 

WHAT IS THE PROPER SIZE? 

A high school ought not to be so large as to 
prevent a principal from being really the ex- 
ecutive and supervising head of his school. 

The by-laws make the principal responsible for the ad- 
ministration of his school; the amount of his responsibility 
depends largely upon the size of his school. Obviously, he 
should not be charged with more responsibility than he can 
effectively carry. As an executive, he has three principal 
relationships to maintain — (i) to pupils, (2) to parents, 
and (3) to teachers. 

1. A high school ought not to be so large as to make 
it impossible for the principal to keep in close touch with 
the work of individual pupils, either personally or through 
a single intermediary. The school should not be so large 
as to prevent the principal from giving advice and coun- 
sel regarding the school's relation to the present and future 
purposes of the pupils. The principal ought to become 
personally acquainted with most, if not all, of the pupils 
who remain in the school for some time, for the pupils' 
sake and for his own. For pupils to come in contact with 
the principal's personality ought to be valuable to them. 
The successful administration of the school by the principal 
depends upon his intimate knowledge of, and detailed in- 
sight into, the work of the pupils. There is no substitute 
for it; in no other way can he make his school serve the 
pupils, except by his knowledge of their needs, and his 
adaptation of the work of the school to those needs. 

2. The school ought not to be so large as to prevent 
the principal from conferring with every parent who seeks 
his counsel. The office of the principal is really a trustee- 
ship created for certain educational purposes; the principal 
ought not to be prevented from performing his functions — 
one of which is to serve parents — by being overloaded with 
other duties, or with too many executive and adminis- 



The Department and Sise of High Schools 109 

trative functions. In other words, counseling with par- 
ents is one of his functions, and the school ought not to 
be so large as to increase the amount of that work to such 
an extent as to make it disproportionate to his other re- 
sponsibilities. 

3. The school ought not to be so large as to prevent 
the principal from supervising carefully the work of each 
teacher, for the improvement of the teachers and in order 
that he may unify the work of the school. Further, if, as 
in New York City, the principal is required to rate or 
grade the work of each teacher each term, he must have 
time to do it. He cannot do this effectively if the number 
of teachers is too large. 

A high school ought not to be so large that 
its size interferes with its effective adminis- 
tration. 

The inevitable administrative difficulties, due to large 
numbers of pupils and teachers, are increased in a large 
school out of proportion to the number of pupils and teach- 
ers. The commotion in the halls caused by the passing of 
classes, and the crowding in cloak rooms, lunch rooms, and 
locker rooms, increase problems of order and discipline in 
geometrical progression rather than in direct proportion 
to the number of students. 

A high school ought not to be so large 
as to prevent the assembly of all pupils at one 
time in the auditorium for general school 
purposes. 

The assembly is one of the means through which the 
principal may impress his personality and his ideals upon 
the student body. It also affords a valuable opportunity 
for creating school spirit, and for inculcating important 
moral lessons. For all these things the assembly of the 
students at one time is desirable and essential. In like 



no Studies in High School Organization 



manner, the school should not be so large that adequate 
gymnasium and lunch room facilities cannot be effectively 
provided. 

WHAT IS THE PRESENT SIZE OF HIGH SCHOOLS IN NEW 

YORK CITY? 

Statistics of Size 
Table XXIII shows the high schools in New York City, 
the number of teachers,^ the number of pupils ^ in the main 

Table XXIII 



High Schools 



No. of 
Teachers 



No. of 
Pupils in 

Main 
Buildings 



No. of 
Pupils in 
Annexes 



Totals 



DeWitt Clinton . . . 
H. S. of Commerce 

Stuyvesant 

Wadleigh 

Washington Irving, 

Morris 

Girls' 

Boys' 

Erasmus Hall 

Manual Training . . 

Commercial 

Eastern District. . . 

Bushwick 

Bryant 

Newtown 

Flushing 

Far Rockaway .... 

Jamaica 

Richmond Hill . . . . 
Curtis 



95 
6i 

83 
107 

133 
113 
112 

69 
120 
123 

92 

87 
26 

39 
27 
27 
12 
36 
32 
35 



3,169 
2,096 
2,082 

2,371 

762 

2,586 

1,828 

1,072 

2,653 

2,307 

2,012 

2,011 

442 

962 

807 

517 

239 

871 

727 
825 



447 
3,137 
751 
886 
706 
624 
706 
368 
640 
732 



53 



3,169 
2,096 
2,082 
2,818 
3,899 
3,337 
2,714 

1,778 

3,277 

3,013 

2,380 

2,651 

1,174 

962 

807 

517 

239 

871 

727 



1,429 



30,339 



9,050 



39,389 



buildings and in the annexes, together with the total num- 
ber of pupils in each school. 

^ Number of teachers June 30, 191 1. 

'Number of pupils on register October 31, 191 1. 




Q 






u 



M 

'^ 



The Department and Sise of High Schools 1 1 1 

It will be observed that the number of pupils ranges from 
239 in Far Rockaway High School to 3,169 in DeWitt 
Clinton High School. The largest high school in the city 
is Washington Irving, containing 3,899 pupils, but this 
school is located in six different buildings. Can the princi- 
pal of one of these large schools be the executive head of 
his school? Can he discharge his obligations to pupils, to 
parents, and to teachers? 

Discussion of Size 

Can the Principal Discharge His Responsibility to 
Pupils? In each of twelve out of the twenty high schools 
there are more than 1,500 pupils; in each of eleven, more 
than 2,000; in each of eight, more than 2,500; and in each 
of five, more than 3,000 pupils. It is perfectly obvious 
that the principal cannot give individual attention to 2,000 
or 3,000 pupils ; that, for example, he cannot know how 
pupils are getting on in their work, or how well the course 
is adapted to their needs. 

The writer called one morning at the office of the princi- 
pal of a school of over 3,000 pupils, when the principal 
was going over the mid-term report cards before sending 
them to parents. The mere mechanical labor of handling 
these hundreds of cards takes days of the principal's time, 
and he certainly cannot examine them carefully enough to 
gain an idea of the work of an individual pupil, or to 
obtain information concerning the work of the 100 or more 
teachers in his school. And yet, as an executive and ad- 
ministrator, he is held responsible for the work of his pupils 
and his teachers. 

Can the Principal Discharge His Responsibility to 
the Parents? Discussion of this matter with principals has 
confirmed our opinion that principals are unable to confer 
with all parents who desire to see them, or with parents 
whom the principals may themselves desire to see. In a 
well-organized school, working under favorable conditions, 



112 Studies in High School Organisation 

a considerable number of parents will wish to confer with 
the principal. In large schools principals are at present 
often compelled to adopt some plan of referring parents to 
the various teachers. And yet these conferences with par- 
ents should be a vital part of the principal's work as an 
executive. 

Can the Principal Discharge His Responsibility to 
the Teachers f In the larger schools, the number of teach- 
ers ranges from about sixty to one hundred and thirty- 
three. Among the functions of the principal, that of ob- 
serving the work of the teachers in order to grade them and 
assist them in improving their work must receive only its 
proportionate time. Hence, the principal has very little 
time for constructive supervision. Suppose there are 120 
teachers in a high school and the principal visits each one 
twice each term, spending a whole period each time.^ On 
the basis of six periods per day and five days per week, the 
principal can make thirty visits each week. If the princi- 
pal visited every period per day, it would take him eight 
weeks to complete this visiting alone. If he visited half 
the time each day, he would spend sixteen weeks, or nearly 
all the available time in a term. Again, where the school 
is divided among six different buildings, as is Washington 
Irving, or between the main buildings and annexes, as are 
eleven schools, the amount of time consumed in visiting 
teachers would be increased accordingly. The lack of care- 
ful supervision has resulted, and must continue to result, in 
a feeling on the part of some teachers that the principal's 
grading is not fair. Many teachers do not think that the 
principal spends enough time with them to justify his judg- 
ment concerning their work. Furthermore, when the prin- 
cipal lacks the time to do the work well, he is likely to err 
on the side of generosity, and grade teachers higher than 
he should. The importance of grading teachers has been 

^ We have elsewhere defended the two propositions, first, that one 
visit is an insufficient basis for giving a grade, and, second, that the 
supervisor should spend a whole period in the room. See p. 61. 






■ - -!^wP 


<Mm -mmf^ m^ 


^^Br^^^'WWWpi ■ , ,m.:.. , „ 1. ■ , , 




M ^\ ' , , ': 





face p. 112 

Auditorium of the Washington Irving High School. 

I. From the balcony; 2. from the stage. 
The largest school in the city of New York. Numl^er of teachers (June, 
191 0, 133- Number of pupils on register, 3,899. 



The Department and Size of High Schools 113 

recently augmented by the "Equal Pay" law, which pro- 
vides that the teacher's increase in salary, beyond the ninth 
and twelfth years, is contingent upon that teacher being 
declared "fit and meritorious," or of "superior merit." The 
grades which principals have given teachers in the past 
have played a prominent part in the determination of this 
"declaration" by the Board of Examiners. Where such 
great educational and financial responsibility rests on the 
principal, he should have time for discharging that respon- 
sibility. 

Docs the Size of the School Interfere With Its Ad- 
ministration f It is the general opinion of the principals 
and teachers in these large high schools that, as adminis- 
trative units, they are too large. This opinion we share. 

Can All Pupils Be Assembled At One Time? There 
are only three high schools in the city which afford accom- 
modations for assembling all the pupils at one time. The 
usual plan is to divide the pupils by classes, and hold 
assembly on different days for different groups of pupils, 
repeating the program for each group. 

High School "Annexes" 

The size of the high schools has developed the "annexes" 
— parts of the school in separate buildings. 

Importance of Considering the Annexes. The following 
facts suggest the importance of considering these annexes 
in detail: 

1. There are twenty high schools and twenty-one an- 
nexes, or an average of more than one annex for each 
high school in New York City. 

2. There are in all 39,389 pupils in the high schools and 
annexes. Of this number, 9,050 are in the annexes. 
That is, 22.98 per cent, of all high school pupils in 
New York City are in annexes. 



114 Studies in High School Organization 

3. There are 27,919 pupils in the eleven schools which 
have annexes, of whom 9,050 are in the annexes. 
That is, 32.41 per cent, of the pupils in high schools 
with annexes are in the annexes. 

Definition, Location, and Equipment. A high school 
annex in New York City means a separately organized 
body of pupils and teachers in a building separate from the 
main school. Nevertheless, for all general purposes, these 
pupils and teachers are considered an integral part of the 
main school. The annex is under the immediate direction 
of a "teacher-in-charge," who is usually of the rank of first 
assistant. Such a "teacher-in-charge" receives $500 ad- 
ditional salary, provided there are twelve or more classes in 
the annex. 

The location of an annex is determined largely by the 
school population to be served. An annex must be located, 
however, in an elementary school building, where rooms 
can be made available for its use. In most cases the annex 
does not crowd the work in the elementary school. But 
there are exceptions; e. g., the annexes of the Morris High 
School, in the Bronx, are crowded into elementary school 
buildings which are badly needed for elementary school 
classes. 

The general equipment of the building in which the 
annex is located is, of course, the equipment of the ele- 
mentary school. In many cases, only the first two or three 
terms of work are oflfered in the annex, although, in some 
cases, as many as three years of work are offered. In any 
case, biology must be taught, and, in the cases of some 
annexes, manual training and commercial work are offered. 
In general, the apparatus for science work, manual train- 
ing, or technical work in the annex is inferior to the ap- 
paratus in the main building. 

Organization. The organization of the annexes will be 
considered from the standpoint of (i) personnel of the 
teachers in the annexes; (2) changes among teachers; (3) 



The Department and Sise of High Schools 115 

the amount of work done by teachers; (4) the size of sec- 
tions in the annexes ; and ( 5 ) changes among pupils. 

1. The personnel of the teachers. Different plans are 
followed by different principals in assigning teachers to the 
annexes. Some principals assign a teacher for a year only, 
rotating teachers from year to year through the annex back 
to the main building. Other principals assign teachers to 
teach in an annex who live in that vicinity and prefer to 
teach there. It is the prevailing Opinion among teachers, 
however, that the less competent teachers are assigned to 
the annexes, and are kept there as long as possible. 

2. Changes among teachers. Wherever the plan exists 
of rotating teachers through the annex and back to the 
main building there is an entire change of teachers in the 
annex each year. This must, of course, be detrimental to 
pupils who remain in the annex for a longer period than one 
year. If, on the contrary, less efficient teachers are as- 
signed to work in the annexes, the teaching must be in- 
ferior to that in the main building. Even though these less 
efficient teachers would be in the main building if there 
were no annexes, their relative number in the annex is 
larger than among the teachers in the main building. In 
other words, a pupil comes usider the instruction of a larger 
number of less effective teachers in the annexes than he 
would if all pupils and teachers were in the main building. 

3. The amount of work done by teachers. The teach- 
ers in the annexes have more periods of teaching and study 
hall supervision than teachers in the main buildings. 

Table XXIV (see page 116) shows the relative amount 
of teaching and study hall supervision done by teachers in 
the departments of English, German, mathematics, biology, 
and history, in the main buildings and in the annexes in the 
high schools of New York City. 

The line drawn through the table horizontally, passing 
through the most frequent average number of periods of 
teaching and study hall supervision in the case of the main 



Ii6 Studies in High School Organisation 



Table XXIV — Number of Teachers 



Main Buildings 



Annexes 



B 

rt.u 



a b 






a b ah 



a b 



a b a b 



X = No data 

«i=l additional teacher with 4 periods. 

«2=l additional teacher with 7 periods. 



» > .- 10 

3 </■ -•*« — »- 

V4j^£i KS— It/C 

J3 .^ I O 

to i - 

.; « 1 ^ 

, ^ IP 




»J 'q ^ 1'> o "<' « •f-' " "' " 



i^ 



3 "^ 



, / 



x^=i additional teacher with 34 periods. 
*<=No history in annexes. 



For an explanation of the method of preparing Table XXIV, see the 
footnote at the bottom of p. 47. 



Size of Sectio 



54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 



No. of Sections 



Main Buildings 



Annexes 



I 2 I 



Totals 



2 2 I 



Table XXV — Table to Show the Size of Sections in German 
Size OF Sections io ii 12 13 H i5 16 i7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 3+ 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 6i 6j 63 64 65 



No. o( Sections 


534 
122 


12 


2 


3 


2 


5 
I 


4 
3 


5 


6 


9 


12 II 
I I 


6 


7 
2 


7 13 26 25 23 19 20 31 

31 I II 3 5 


26 


22 2S 29 20 


27 20 
6 7 


2 1 23 

7 6 


19 

4 


10 

4 


3 
5 


4 
3 


6 

2 


2 

3 


s 

5 


I 

3 


3 


I 
3 


I 2 

I 


I 
I 


2 I I 


Annexes 


3 


6486 


I 


Totals 


656 


12* 


2 


3 


2 


6 


7 


5 


6 


9 


13 12 


6 


9 


7 16 27 25 24 30 23 36 


29 


28 32 37 33 


33 27 


28 31 


23 


14 


8 


7 


8 


S 


11 


4 


3 


2 I 


I 3 


t 


3 1 I I 



*One section with 6 pupils 

* 5 " 

Four sections " 7 " each 



The Department and Sise of High Schools 117 

buildings and the annexes, shows that the teachers in the 
annexes are doing the larger amount of this work. 

If the facts in Table XXIV be tabulated in a different 
form, this conclusion is reinforced. The following is a 
comparison of the average number of periods of work most 
frequently done by teachers in the main building and an- 
nexes, arranged by subjects : 

In Main 

Buildings In Annexes 

In English 24.0 27.0 

In German 25.5 27.0 

In mathematics 25 . 5 27.5 

In biology 25.5 25.0 

In history 24 . 5 Not offered 

In every case, except biology, the amount of work car- 
ried by teachers is larger in the annex than in the main 
building. It should be further pointed out that 65.47 per 
cent, of the teachers in the annexes are carrying more than 
twenty-five periods of work per week. In addition to 
teaching and study hall supervision, a large majority of 
teachers also have, like the teachers in the main building, 
"other assigned duties." 

4. Size of sections. A study of the size of sections ^ 
in the main building and in the annexes shows that they 
are much larger in the annexes, as shown by the accom- 
panying table opposite page 116. 

The sections in the main building are divided into two 
(approximately) equal parts by the line between "30" and 
"31"; in the annexes between "35" and "36". 

Among the different annexes the terms of work cov- 
ered vary from two to six. The above comparison is made 
between the size of sections in the eight terms in all schools 
and the size of sections in all terms in the annexes (be they 
;wo or more). But the same general statement is true if 
the main school be compared with the annex term by term. 

^ The chart showing the facts collected for this study is too large to 
be inserted here. It has been filed with the Committee on School In- 
quiry. 



ii8 Studies in High School Organization 

For example, the first term sections in the main building 
are divided into two approximately equal parts between 
"35" and "36" in the scale at the top of the table, while 
in the same term sections in the annexes are divided be- 
tween "37" and "38." This size of section is partially de- 
termined by the size of room in the annexes, the rooms in 
the elementary school buildings being larger than the rooms 
in the high school buildings, and partially by the fact that 
relatively fewer teachers are employed. 

5. Changes among pupils. There is greater fluctu- 
ation in the number of pupils in the annexes than in the 
main buildings. The fluctuation is caused largely by the 
number of pupils who drop out of school, but those who 
only drop out of a subject are also included. The fluctu- 
ations in English are typical. 

Table XXVI shows the number of pupils taking Eng- 
lish in the first term in the main buildings and the annexes, 
in the schools indicated, and the fluctuations in each. 

Table XXVI — Pupils Taking First Term English 
Main Buildings {Per Cent, of Loss 8.0) 

Wadleigh 419 —54 

Morris 527 —35 

Erasmus Hall 563 + i 

Manual Training 552 —62 

Eastern District 405 — 48 

Totals 2,466 198 

Annexes (Per Cent, of Loss 11.6) 

Wadleigh 293 — 26 

Morris 245 + 9 

137 —16 

Erasmus Hall 195 — 35 

69 — 20 

Manual Training 300 — 41 

186 —34 

Eastern District 354 — 44 

Totals 1,779 207 

From the preceding table it will be observed that, of the 
2,466 pupils in first term of English in the high schools 



The Department and Si^e of High Schools 1 19 

indicated, 198, or 8 per cent., dropped the English work; 
in the annexes, of the 1,779 pupils in the same term of 
English, 207 pupils, or 11.6 per cent., dropped the English 
work. 

Table XXVII shows the number of pupils taking Eng- 
lish in the second term in the main buildings and in the 
annexes, and the fluctuations in each. 

Table XXVII — Pupils Taking Second Term English 
Main Buildings (Per Cent, of Loss 9.6) 

Wadleigh 265 — 9 

Morris 182 — 28 

Boys' 57 — 2 

Erasmus Hall 376 — 49 

Manual Training 372 — 34 

Eastern District 256 — '23 

Totals 1,508 145 

Annexes (Per Cent, of Loss 15.5) 

Wadleigh 161 — 13 

Girls' 229 — 35 

54—6 

Boys' 105 — 17 

132 — 9 

Erasmus Hall 130 —29 

65 —12 

Manual Training 147 — 10 

98 —19 

Eastern District 231 — 59 

Totals 1,352 209 

Of the 1,508 pupils in the second term of English in the 
main buildings, 145 dropped out, or 9.6 per cent. ; of the 
1,352 pupils in second term in the annexes, 209 dropped 
out, or 15.5 per cent. 

What is true of pupils in English is true of pupils in 
other subjects, namely, that the temporary conditions sur- 
rounding the annex are conducive to pupils' leaving school. 

Other important considerations, i. The department 
in the main building from which the first assistant is 
taken is deprived of the services of a first assistant as direc- 



120 Studies in High School Organisation 

tor, because no first assistant is appointed in his place. The 
result is that an assistant teacher is temporarily put in 
charge of the department, which arrangement may or may 
not be satisfactory, depending upon the ability of the assist- 
ant teacher. 

2. The first assistant in the main building, as chair- 
man of his department, is responsible for the supervision 
and direction of the work of his department in the annexes. 
Inasmuch as the annexes are, in some cases, long distances 
from the main building (over twelve miles from Curtis 
High School), it is obvious that the first assistant cannot 
properly supervise the work of the teachers in his depart- 
ment in the annexes. 

3. In view of the small number of sections (classes) 
in any given study in the annex, it is usually necessary for 
a teacher to teach subjects other than those for which he 
is licensed. This means that the teacher of mathematics 
may be called upon to teach biology and English. We have 
been informed that in one annex, for example, there are no 
teachers of mathematics, all the work in mathematics being 
divided among teachers in other departments. 

4. There is no school spirit in the annex such as there 
is in the main building. Teachers, in general, dislike to 
work in the annex and pupils also object to attending the 
annex. Our attention has been drawn to several cases in 
which pupils have traveled long distances in order to attend 
the high school, although the annex was close to their 
homes. 

5. Pupils and parents have a right to the advice and 
counsel of the principal of the school, rather than that of 
the "teacher-in-charge," no matter how efficient he may be. 

6. Usually, only one language is offered in the annex, 
so that a pupil in the annex has not the same opportunity 
to elect from three languages that is afforded to pupils in 
the main building. 



The Department and Size of High Schools 121 

7. In some cases (Morris High Scliool, for example) 
all the commercial work is done in the annexes, so that 
pupils who take the three-year commercial course have to 
go to the annex, even though they may live much nearer 
the main building. This means, also, that no commercial 
electives are available to pupils in the general course in the 
main building. 

8. From the standpoint of the school as a whole, 
sections could be more effectively organized in any subject 
if the annexes could be merged in the main building. For 
example, suppose there were forty-five pupils in second 
term work in the annex and seventy-five pupils in the same 
term of work in the same subjects in the main building; it 
is clear that there must be two sections in the annex and 
there ought to be three sections in the main building. If 
these 120 pupils were in the same building, they could be 
grouped into four sections of normal size, instead of five 
small sections, or three or four sections, of which some 
must be altogether too large. By this grouping into four 
sections, one section could be eliminated and one fifth of 
the work of a teacher could be saved. 

At best, the annex should be considered an undesirable 
temporary expedient. The teaching is likely to be inferior; 
the teachers change often, and are called upon to do a rela- 
tively large amount of teaching as compared with teachers 
in the main building ; the work cannot be made as effective 
in the annex because the equipment is usually not so good ; 
the supervision is not so effective; the sections (classes) are 
larger ; the educational offering is more limited ; and, finally, 
conditions generally militate against successful work. 

In addition, while the annex may serve a purpose as a 
temporary expedient, it defeats its own purpose as a per- 
manent part of a high school system. If allowed to con- 
tinue, it becomes a means of increasing, rather than de- 
creasing, congestion in the main building. For instance, a 
regular high school building is built to accommodate a given 



122 Studies in High School Organization 

number of pupils, distributed through a four-year course. 
Through a steady increase in attendance, more pupils ap^ 
ply for admission to the first-year class in this school than 
can be accommodated. The Board of Superintendents then 
recommends the opening of an annex to take some of the 
first-year pupils, and designates it an annex of this school. 
The work is usually extended over two terms (one year) 
of work, or more, after completing which pupils are trans- 
ferred to the main building. In the meantime, the attend- 
ance in the main building has been at the maximum capacity 
of the building. The inevitable result is that the pupils, 
when transferred from the annex, become a direct cause of 
congestion, and, in most cases, the cause of very serious 
administrative difficulties in the main building. When, 
from term to term, the pupils from three or four annexes 
pour into the main building to take their places in sections 
of the second or third year of the course, the annex is a 
direct cause of, rather than a relief for, crowded and un- 
satisfactory conditions in a school. 

The annex should, therefore, be regarded as only a tem- 
porary means of caring for a group of pupils until an 
additional high school can be organized and suitable build- 
ings built. 

In spite of these unfavorable conditions, the annex has 
already become altogether too permanent an institution in 
secondary education in New York City. Only adequate 
accommodation for high school pupils will enable the city 
to get rid of annexes. Steps should be taken at once to 
provide more high school buildings. 

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS 

I. We heartily endorse Superintendent Maxwell's rec- 
ommendation in his report of 1909, page 112, "that here- 
after no high school be erected to accommodate more than 
1,500 students." The same recommendation has been made 
more than once by Superintendent Maxwell, and similar rec- 



The Department and Size of High Schools 123 

ommendations have been made by Associate City Superin- 
tendent Stevens.^ High school principals testify unani- 
mously that the present schools are much too large, and 
that 1,500 pupils should be the maximum for one school. 
This size is satisfactory educationally, because the principal 
and the teachers can give more direct attention to the indi- 
vidual pupils of the school, and, hence, they can increase 
the efficiency of the school work. It is satisfactory eco- 
nomically because a school of 1,500 pupils is large enough 
for an effective economic organization. 

The most common argument that has been advanced 
against the establishment of smaller schools and more of 
them, instead of the present practice of establishing a few 
schools of enormous size, is the cost of school sites. This 
argument has little force. The cost of a school site is 
always a relative matter, inasmuch as the high cost of a 
site in any city indicates that the property in the vicinity, 
or in the city as a whole, is likewise high. To put it 
briefly, expensive school sites mean a high valuation of 
property which is able to bear the expense. The City of 
New York is just as able to purchase as many school sites 
as it needs as is any city in the country. 

2. We recommend that a definite policy be adopted of 
establishing high schools in various boroughs of the city 
to replace the annexes. As an illustration, the Borough of 
the Bronx has only one high school, which is so over- 
crowded that there are pupils on part time in the main 

* "I think all will agree that many of our high schools, regarded as 
units of organization, are too large. We place the immediate direc- 
tion in the hands of a principal ; we impose on him responsibility ; we 
require him to master the details of administration; we expect him to 
study the needs and capacities of each pupil ; we direct him to super- 
vise the work of his teachers and to aid and correct those who are 
weak or unsuccessful. With a registration of more than one thousand 
pupils this is impossible. If each of our high school organizations 
could be held to this maximum, it would be possible to do more for the 
individual pupil and to regulate the work of new and inexperienced 
teachers." — Associate City Superintendent Edward L. Stevens, in Ninth 
Annual Report of the City Superintendent of Schools of the City of 
New York, for the year ending July 31, 1907, page 247. 



124 Studies in High School Organization 

school, and there are 751 pupils in two annexes occupying 
rooms which are as badly needed for elementary school 
work. 

3. We recommend, also, that a plan be adopted of es- 
tablishing the different types of specialized high schools 
throughout the city as a basis for studying their effective- 
ness. We have already pointed out that, everything con- 
sidered, a school with a single purpose can be more effec- 
tively organized and can carry out its purpose more satis- 
factorily than a school which undertakes to accomplish two 
or three distinct purposes. The reason for providing three 
curricula within a given high school, such as Bryant, is 
that the three different types of education may be made 
more easily available to the 1,000 pupils in the school. If, 
however, the Board of Education should adopt a policy 
such as we recommend of limiting the size of high school 
to 1,500 pupils, and, further, if these schools of different 
types should be located throughout the city in such a way 
as to make them as readily accessible as possible to the 
pupils who will attend them, then the need of having more 
than one curriculum in a given high school will not be as 
great as it is at the present time. 

Further, new high schools are needed in those parts of 
the city where sites are less expensive than in Manhattan. 
The Board of Education should also adopt a policy of an- 
ticipating high school needs by securing sites at advan- 
tageous times. 

Effectiveness and availability of instruction and effective- 
ness of administration require that schools be limited in 
size, that schools be established to take the place of an- 
nexes, and that different types of specialized high schools 
(recommended page 126) be properly distributed through- 
out the city. Such a plan would result in making educa- 
tion more available to the high school population, would 
increase the effectiveness of that education, and would re- 
move some of the problems of administration in the large 
schools. 



The Department and Size of High Schools 125 

Summary of Findings and Recommendations 

The following is a condensed summary of our findings 
and recommendations on the responsibility of the Depart- 
ment of Education for the size of the high schools. 

We find : 

1. That the high schools in New York City, in most 
cases, are so large that (a) it is doubtful whether 
the principal can discharge satisfactorily his responsi- 
bility to pupils, parents, and teachers; (b) that their 
very size interferes with their effective administra- 
tion; (c) that an assembly of all students at one time 
is impossible; and (d) that general facilities, such 
as lunch rooms, lockers, etc., cannot be adequately 
provided. 

2, That the system of annexes is unsatisfactory, be- 
cause, among other reasons, 

a. The opinion prevails that the teachers are in- 
ferior to those in the main building. 

b. The teachers change often. 

c. The teachers do relatively more teaching than 
in the main building, and often teach subjects 
other than those which they are licensed to 
teach. 

d. The sections are too large, being considerably 
larger than sections in the main building. 

e. The students drop out faster than in the main 
building. 

f . The educational offering is not equivalent to the 
offering in the main building. 

g. School spirit is lacking ; teachers and pupils both 
prefer the main school. 

h. The organization of the school as a whole can- 
not be so effective with annexes as it could be 
if all pupils were in one building. 



126 Studies in High School Organization 

We recommend: 

1. That high schools hereafter established be limited to 
1,500 pupils. 

2. That a definite policy be adopted of establishing high 
schools in various parts of the city to take the place 
of annexes, and that additional high schools be estab- 
lished in accordance with that policy. 

3. That a plan be adopted of establishing the different 
types (specialized and cosmopolitan, particularly the 
former) of high schools throughout the city, and that 
a careful study of their comparative effectiveness be 
made from year to year. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE 
SIZE AND NUMBER OF CLASSROOMS 

ROOMS RESPONSIBLE FOR SMALL AND LARGE SECTIONS 

THE effectiveness of the organization of a high school is 
directly affected by the size and number of classrooms 
available for recitation purposes. The size and number of 
classrooms are at present responsible for some of the 
small sections found in the high schools. Small rooms 
which were never intended for classroom purposes, are 
being used to help to accommodate the constantly increas- 
ing register. On the other hand, large rooms in the ele- 
mentary school buildings, and also in the main buildings, 
account for many of the large sections. It is inevitable 
that, wherever large rooms are available, they will be filled 
whenever the attendance increases beyond the intended 
working capacity of the school. 

RELATION TO THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS 

The above has a direct bearing upon the amount of 
teaching to be done, and the number of teachers it takes 
to care for a given number of pupils, and, hence, the cost 
of instruction. For example: Erasmus Hall High School 
had seven teachers to teach 765 pupils in the department of 
German in the spring term of 191 1, or an average of 109.2 
pupils per teacher. DeWitt Clinton High School had only 
seven and four-fifths teachers to teach 1,135 pupils during 
the same term, or an average of 145.5 pupils per teacher. 
For the Department of Education to say that the larger 

127 



128 Studies in High School Organisation 

number of teachers in the Erasmus Hall High School is re- 
quired because small classrooms must be used is not a 
satisfactory answer, because it is one of the functions of 
the Board of Education to provide adequate classrooms. 
Hence, if the rooms used would not accommodate a full- 
sized class, it is pertinent to ask why such conditions have 
not been anticipated and a way provided to avoid them. 

A FALSE ECONOMY 

It is a defensible thesis that whenever a teacher teaches 
a group of pupils half the size of a regular class, due to a 
lack of adequate classrooms, that teacher is not rendering 
adequate return to the city for the money expended. The 
work of a teacher of a class of fifteen pupils in a small 
room is only one half as productive as it should be, because 
it reaches only half as many pupils as it should. It is a 
false economy (whether practiced by the Department of 
Education or by the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment) to force the use of inadequate classrooms by not 
providing sufficient classrooms of the proper size. It cre- 
ates a necessity of providing teachers otherwise unneces- 
sary, and the educational returns from such teachers are 
not commensurate with their cost. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

1. Limit the seating capacity of classrooms to the 
maximum (or a little more than the maximum) standard 
size of section. In no other way can the filling of every 
available room be avoided. 

2. Provide special study halls. It is important to con- 
sider the matter of study halls in connection with the num- 
ber of available classrooms. In Wadleigh and Erasmus 
Hall High Schools, for example, there are regular study 
halls, seating from 125 to 150 or more pupils. Each hall is 
in charge of one teacher during each period of the day. 



The Department and the Classrooms 129 

Our study of the work of teachers shows that chairmen 
of departments give an average of two periods per week 
to study hall supervision, and teachers an average of 3.16 
periods per week. Thus the present practice of supervising 
from twenty-five to forty pupils studying in regular class 
rooms consumes over 12 per cent, of the time of the 
teachers. This time could be reduced by 75 per cent, if 
study halls were provided, so that one teacher (or possibly 
two) could supervise from 125 to 150 pupils, instead of 
only twenty-five to forty, leaving other teachers free to 
teach or to perform other services. With larger study 
halls, the amount of time required of teachers to super- 
vise study would be reduced, and more classrooms would 
be available for recitation purposes. 

3. Provide more classrooms. The obvious way to 
overcome the lack of adequate classrooms is to provide 
more buildings, with classrooms enough to accommodate 
the pupils. 

The above are all matters to which the Department of 
Education and the school architect can profitably give 
attention. 

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

The following is a condensed summary of our findings 
and recommendations on the responsibility of the Depart- 
ment of Education for the size and number of classrooms. 
We find : 

1. That some small sections are the result of the prin- 
cipals being forced to use small rooms in the main 
building. 

2. That some large sections are the result of the prin- 
cipals being forced to use large rooms, particularly 
in annexes ; some are also the result of filling class- 
rooms in the main building to overflowing on ac- 
count of congested conditions. 



130 Studies in High School Organization 

3. That small sections mean expensive instruction, be- 
cause the teaching reaches a comparatively small 
number of students. 

4. That large sections often mean ineffective instruc- 
tion, because the number of pupils a teacher can 
satisfactorily teach is limited. 

We recommend : 

1. That the seating capacity of classrooms be limited 
to the maximum standard size of section to make 
over-size sections impossible. 

2. That in the new buildings constructed, and, as far 
as practicable, in the buildings now in use, special 
study halls, seating 125 to 150 pupils, be provided, 
so that less time of teachers would be required in 
study hall supervision, and regular classrooms could 
be used more largely for recitation purposes. 

3. That more classrooms be provided through the build- 
ing of more high schools. 



IN TRAINING SCHOOL (Theory Department) 
}T subject is to be increased or decreased. 



UCATION 

YORK 



gh of. 



lis school, as follows: 



i. 



. School 



p OR DECREASED 



tratory 

istant 



To 



Library 

Assistant 



From To 



Clerical 

Assistant 



From To 



Critic 
Teacher 



From To 



Total 



From To 



CHANGE IX OROAXIZATION IN HIGH SCHOOL OR IX TRAIXING SCHOOL (Theory DEPARmENT) 
To be used when the number of teachers of any rank or subjfct is to be increased or decreased. 



DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



To the Board of Superintendents: 

Application is hereby made to 'il^r^ase*'*^^ number of positions in this school, as follo^v 



POSITIONS TO BE INCREASED OR DECREASED 



r teachers needed) 



First Assistant 


Assistant Teacher 


Junior Teacher 


Laboratory 
Assistant 


Library 
Assistant 


Clerical 
Assistant 


Critic 
Teacher 


Total 


From To Subject 


From 


To 


Subject 


From 


To 


Subject 


From 


To 


From 


To 


From 


To 


From 


To 


From 


To 


1 





































































Total register of the school. 



Average number of pupils per teacher, including each rank except principal, library i 
training school do not include teachers of the model department.) 

Number of pupils to be instructed on 19 , in the subjects for which new teachers are needed, and the 

present number of teachers {ittdudin? vacancies) of such subjects. 



Subject 


No. Pupils 


No. Teachers 
(give rank) 


Subject 


No. Pupils 


No. Teachers 
(give rank) 































































ADDITIONAL REASONS FOR REQUEST 



REMARKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF SUPERINTENDENTS 



District Superintendenl. 



Associate City SuperirUtndtnt, 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE 
NUMBER OF TEACHERS EMPLOYED 

NUMBER OF TEACHERS DIRECTLY AFFECTS ORGANIZATION 

THE most important factor in determining effective 
high school organization is the number of teachers 
employed in the various departments of study. This state- 
ment is so obvious as to require no argument. As the num- 
ber of teachers is increased, the number of sections can be 
increased and the over-size sections reduced. On the other 
hand, if the number of teachers remains the same, and the 
number of pupils increases, the number of pupils per section 
must be increased. 

Further, the appointment of teachers is comparatively 
the easiest, quickest, and most effective method of improv- 
ing the organization of a school. Changes in the curricu- 
lum, the size of the school, and the number of classrooms 
available are factors affecting the organization of the school 
which cannot be changed at will; they are the result of de- 
liberation and planning — in fact, the result of a policy — and 
can be changed only by a change in general policy. The 
appointment of teachers is a continual administrative func- 
tion (and changes in curricula should be). But the build- 
ing of school buildings is a matter of policy. It should be 
the result of a well-conceived plan which should anticipate 
future needs. This being so, teachers should be appointed 
to serve not only normal needs (i. e., when the size of 

131 



132 Studies in High School Organization 

school, the program of studies, and the size and number of 
classrooms are satisfactory), but also to offset, as far as 
possible, unsatisfactory conditions affecting organization. 
In other words, these controlling factors must all be taken 
into consideration when any one of them is at issue, to 
the end that the most effective organization that the con- 
ditions permit may result. 

THE METHOD OF APPOINTMENT 

The method of estimating the need of high school teach- 
ers for budget purposes has been discussed in another part 
of this report (see page 143). We are here concerned with 
the procedure by which these teachers are appointed after 
they have been provided for in the budget. New teaching 
positions are established by the Board of Superintendents 
upon the recommendation of the Associate City Superin- 
tendent in charge of high schools. His recommendation is 
based upon applications for additional teachers, made by 
high school principals and addressed to the Board of 
Superintendents. On the other hand, the same procedure 
is followed in case a principal declares "teachers in excess." 
In no other single way does the action of the Associate 
City Superintendent so directly affect the internal organiza- 
tion of each school. 

THE METHOD NOW IN USE IS INADEQUATE 

The blank sent to the principal and used by him in mak- 
ing application for teachers is shown opposite page 131. 
The important items on this blank are : 

1. The number of ''positions to be increased or de- 

creased," classified by rank and sex of teach- 
ers, and subject to be taught. 

2. "Total register of the school." 

3. "Average number of pupils per teacher, includ- 
ing each rank, except principal, library assist- 
ant, and clerical assistant." 



The Department and the Teachers 133 

4. "Number of pupils to be instructed on (date), 
in the subjects for which new teachers are 
needed, and the present number of teachers 
(including vacancies) of such subjects." 

This information is inadequate for the purpose to be 
served. A study of the blank will show that there are two 
items which are apparently considered a satisfactory basis 
for determining whether a decrease or an increase in the 
number of teachers in a given high school is desirable, viz., 
(i) "the average number of pupils per teacher" for the 
school as a whole, found by dividing the "total register of 
the school" by the number of teachers employed, exclusive 
of the principal, library and clerical assistants; and (2) the 
average number of pupils per teacher in the department in 
which the change in organization is proposed. This aver- 
age (which is not given, but is implied in the blank) is 
found by dividing the number of pupils by the number of 
teachers in the department in which the change is proposed. 
Let us consider each of these items in turn. 

(i) "Average numher of pupils per teacher' for the 
school as a whole. Such a figure as the "average number 
of pupils per teacher" in a given high school cannot show 
whether new teachers ^ are needed, because this "average" 
legitimately varies greatly among different schools, and also 
varies from term to term in the same school. Therefore it 
cannot constitute a satisfactory standard for determining 
whether additional teachers are necessary or justifiable in a 
given school. A standard must be a measure which is con- 
stantly, and approximately, attainable in all schools, or it 
cannot be a satisfactory standard for passing judgment on 
the practice or conditions in a system of high schools. The 
"average number of pupils per teacher" for the school as a 
whole is not such a standard. 

* In this discussion we shall consider the case of new teachers only, 
although the case of "teachers in excess" would be handled in the same 
way. 



134 Studies in High School Organisation 

(2) The average number of pupils per teacher by de- 
partments in a school. The numbers on which this average 
is based are really the first essential items which should 
constitute a recorded basis for the principal's request for, 
and the Associate City Superintendent's approval of, ad- 
ditional teachers for a department of study in a high school. 
It is important to know how many pupils there are in the 
department, and how many teachers there are to teach 
them, to indicate the size of the problem which confronts the 
school authorities of providing instruction in that depart- 
ment in a given school. But this is only the most general 
information, and neither these figures nor the average de- 
rived from them really furnish the necessary information 
for passing judgment on the need of additional teachers. 
Neither figures can be considered a satisfactory standard 
for passing judgment, because the schools cannot approxi- 
mate to any uniform standard for the city as a whole, as 
shown by the table on the following page. 

Table XXVIII (see page 135) shows the number of pu- 
pils taking German, the number of teachers of German, and 
the average number of pupils per teacher in German in all 
the high schools. 

This table shows great variation in the average number 
of pupils taught by a teacher of German in the different 
high schools of the city. This variation ranges from an 
average of 186.5 pupils per teacher in High School of Com- 
merce to 102.7 pupils per teacher in Wadleigh High School. 
If there is a standard number of pupils for each teacher of 
German in the high schools of New York City this table 
certainly does not reveal it, because, rather than showing 
even approximate uniformity, it shows great diversity. 
This diversity is to some extent inevitable and justifiable, 
and, hence, on that account, a standard "average number of 
pupils per teacher" for a department of study cannot be 
approximately maintained for all the high schools of the 
city. Consequently, the average number of pupils per 
teacher in a department cannot be a satisfactory basis for 



The Department and the Teachers 135 

estimating the need of additional teachers in that depart- 
ment in any given high school. 

Further, if we classify the high schools according to the 
total number of pupils taking German, we find the same 
variation that was found among the schools of the city 
taken as a whole. In those schools with 500 or less pupils 



Table XXVIII 



High Schools 



Pupils 



Teachers 



Average 



DeWitt Clinton 

High School of Commerce 

Stuyvesant , 

Wadleigh , 

Washington Irving 

Morris 

Girls' 

Boys' 

Erasmus Hall , 

Manual Training , 

Commercial 

Eastern District , 

Bushwick 

Bryant , 

Newtown , 

Flushing , 

Far Rockaway , 

Jamaica 

Richmond Hill , 

Curtis 



1. 135 


7t 


145.5 


1,119 


6 


186.5 


1,384 


9l 


144-2 


719 


7 


102.7 


2,619 


15^ 


172.3 


1,793 


12 


149-4 


1,274 


9i 


138.5 


«33 


61 


122.5 


765 


7 


109.3 


1,972 


14 


140.8 


1,781 


10 


178. 1 


1,547 


10 


154-7 


741 


5 


148.2 


497 


3 


165-7 


492 


3^ 


164.0 


340 


2f 


121. 4 


149 


It 


124.2 


525 


4t 


125.0 


539 


4t 


128.3 


444 


4 


III.O 



In the cases of Manual Training, Bushwick, and Curtis High Schools 
the figures include the pupils taking French. In such cases, of course, 
the number of teachers teaching French is included. 

The data for this table were taken from the "Program of Daily 
Recitation" sheets furnished to the Department of Education by the 
high school principals for the February-June term, 191 1. The figures 
are for the main building and the annexes combined, in so far as the 
data concerning the annexes were interpretable. 

in German the variation in the average number of pupils 
per teacher is from iii.o in Curtis High School to 165.7 ^^ 
Bryant High School, as follows: 



136 Studies in High School Organisation 

No. of No. of 

Pupils Teachers Average 

Far Rockaway 149 ij 124.2 

Flushing 340 2f 121 . 4 

Curtis 444 4 iii.o 

Newtown 492 3 164.0 

Bryant 497 3 165.7 

In those schools with from 500 to 1,000 pupils in Ger- 
man the variation in the average number of pupils per 
teacher is from 102.7 in Wadleigh High School to 148.2 
in Bushwick High School, as follows : 

No. of No. of 

Pupils Teachers Average 

Jamaica 525 4^ 125.0 

Richmond Hill 539 4I 128.3 

Wadleigh 719 7 102 .7 

Bushwick 741 5 148.2 

Erasmus Hall 765 7 109 -3 

Boys' 833 6| 122.5 

In those schools with 1,000 to 1,500 pupils in German 
the variation in the average number of pupils per teacher 
is from 138.5 in Girls' High School to 186.5 i^ the High 
School of Commerce, as follows : 

No. of No. of 

Pupils Teachers Average 

High School of Commerce 1,119 6 186.5 

DeWitt Clinton 1,135 7f 145-5 

Girls' 1,274 9i 138.5 

Stuyvesant 1,384 gf 144-2 

In those schools with 1,500 to 2,500 pupils in German 
the variation in the average number of pupils per teacher 
is from 149.4 in Morris High School to 178. i in Commer- 
cial High School, as follows: 

No. of No. of 

Pupils Teachers Average 

Eastern District i,547 10 154-7 

Commercial 1,781 10 178. i 

Morris i,793 12 149-4 

Manual Training 1,972 14 140.8 

Washington Irving 2,619 ISi 172.3 



The Department and the Teachers 137 

We conclude, therefore, that a standard "average num- 
ber of pupils per teacher" for a department of study can- 
not be approximately maintained either for the high schools 
of the city, irrespective of size, or for schools with approxi- 
mately the same number of pupils in that department. The 
conclusion is, therefore, reinforced that the need of ad- 
ditional teachers in each school must be judged according 
to its own peculiar conditions, and not according to any 
"average number of pupils per teacher." 

WHAT THE BLANK SHOULD CONTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS 

The essential facts to determine the need of additional 
teachers in a department of study are these : 

1. Concerning the size of sections: 

a. How many pupils are there in the department, 
and how are they distributed by terms of work 
pursued ? 

b. What are the number and size of sections by 
terms of work, as organized at the time of the 
application ? 

c. Is the size of sections, as organized, in harmony 
with the standards fixed by the Board of 
Superintendents ? 

2. Concerning the amount of teaching: 

a. How many periods of teaching and other work 
are teachers already employed in the depart- 
ment doing? 

b. How much teaching and other work is there 
for the additional teacher or teachers to do? 

c. Is the number of periods of teaching now 
being done by teachers in the department in 
harmony with the standards fixed by the Board 
of Superintendents? 



138 Studies in High School Organisation 

As has been stated (page 4), the size of section is impor- 
tant educationally and economically. The size of section 
and the amount of teaching to be done are inseparably con- 
nected. The method, therefore, of determining the desir- 
ability or necessity of an increase or a decrease in the num- 
ber of teachers in a department in any high school must 
incorporate as essential data the size of section and the 
amount of teaching which teachers already employed are 
doing. If the size of sections in a given department is 
larger than the standard size of section, it is obvious that 
additional sections should be formed, thus increasing the 
amount of teaching to be done. An increase in the amount 
of teaching to be done would necessitate an increase in the 
number of teachers to do it, provided the teachers already 
employed were doing the standard amount of teaching and 
other work. It is necessary to know, therefore, the amount 
of work which teachers already employed are doing before 
additional teachers can wisely be asked for by the princi- 
pals, or judiciously recommended by the Associate City 
Superintendent. If the teachers already employed are 
teaching the standard amount of work, obviously any in- 
crease in the number of sections must be cared for by 
additional teachers. If teachers are teaching more than the 
standard number of periods, and it is necessary to reduce 
that amount of work, clearly it can only be done by the 
employment of additional teachers. 

If abnormal conditions, affecting the size of section and, 
consequently, the number of teachers needed, exist in a 
school, a statement of these facts should be added to the 
information already indicated as essential before the desir- 
ability of a change in the number of teachers will be ap- 
parent. Therefore, the principal of a high school, in mak- 
ing application for an increase in the number of teachers in 
a given department, should furnish the above information 
and a statement of the unusual conditions affecting the 
work of the department. 

With such information as a basis, the Associate City 



The Department and the Teachers 139 

Superintendent in charge of high schools is fully in a posi- 
tion to approve or disapprove the application. All informa- 
tion which the principal furnishes should be presented in 
a written report to the Board of Superintendents, accom- 
panied by the approval or disapproval of the Associate City 
Superintendent. If the foregoing data were the basis of 
the decision to increase or decrease the number of teachers 
in a department of study, teachers would be provided where 
they are actually needed to maintain both the standard size 
of section and the standard number of periods of teaching 
per week per teacher. On the other hand, teachers would 
be declared in excess in certain departments of study where 
there is now apparently enough work for them to do, but 
only apparently, because, the size of section being below 
the standard, their number makes necessary the present 
number of teachers. Hence we recommend the adoption 
of a blank which shall incorporate the essential data by 
which the need of additional teachers can be shown. Only 
when such a blank is used will it be certain that teachers 
are provided where they are actually needed, and declared 
"in excess" where they are not needed. 



SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

The following is a condensed summary of our findings 
and recommendations on the responsibility of the Depart- 
ment of Education for the number of teachers employed. 

We find: 

1. That the method of increasing or decreasing the 

number of teachers in a department of study does 
not insure the appointment of teachers where they 
are needed. 

2. Nor does it insure the declaring of teachers "in ex- 
cess" where they are not needed. 



140 Studies in High School Organization 

3. That, in many schools, there is not a sufficient num- 

ber of teachers to maintain the standard size of 
section and the standard week's work for a teacher 
fixed by the Board of Superintendents. 

4. That, in some schools, there are more teachers than 
would have been necessary had the size of section 
not been abnormally small. 

5. That the blank now used in the reorganization above 
noted is inadequate for its purpose. 

We recommend : 

1. That a reorganization blank be adopted which shall 

furnish the following essential facts, on which the 
need of changing the number of teachers in a de- 
partment is based. 

2. Concerning the size of sections : 

a. How many pupils are there in the department, 
and how are they distributed by terms of work 
pursued ? 

b. What are the number and size of sections by 
terms of work, as organized at the time of the 
application ? 

c. Is the size of sections, as organized, in accord- 
ance with the standards fixed by the Board of 
Superintendents ? 

3. Concerning the amount of teaching: 

a. How many periods of teaching and other work 

are teachers already employed in the department 
doing? 

b. How much teaching and other work is there for 

the additional teacher or teachers to do? 

c. Is the number of periods of teaching now being 
done by teachers in the department in accord 
with the standard fixed by the Board of Super- 
intendents ? 



Estimating the Number of High School Teachers 
Needed — A Resume 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEM IN THE 
CITY OF NEW YORK 

IN order to understand the importance of the problem 
of estimating the number of high school teachers 
needed from year to year in the City of New York, it is 
necessary to know, in general, how the Education Budget 
is prepared and money appropriated for school purposes. 
According to the regular procedure, additional high school 
teachers can be employed only in case money has been ap- 
propriated in the preceding Education Budget to pay them. 
In order to secure the appropriation of such money at any 
given time there must have been inserted in the preceding 
Education Budget an item showing the estimated number 
of additional high school teachers needed and the sum 
required to pay their salaries. By the approval of such an 
item in the budget the stated amount of money becomes 
available for the employment of additional high school 
teachers by the Board of Education as such teachers are 
needed. It will be seen, therefore, that in order to secure 
the necessary teachers something more is involved than 
the mere appointment of them by educational officials 
when needed. The probable educational needs of the high 
schools during an ensuing period of eighteen months must 
be considered, and estimates must be prepared for the Edu- 
cation Budget stating the number of teachers of various 
ranks necessary to meet such needs. These estimates must 
be presented in such a clear and convincing form, and de- 
fended both in private conferences and at public hearings 
with such incontestable facts, as to secure the necessary ap- 

143 



144 Studies in High School Organisation 

proval of the city officials, some of whom are likely to be 
more interested in keeping down the tax rate than they 
are in providing funds adequate to the maintenance of 
schools. To show the importance to the City of New 
York of the problem of estimating the number of high 
school teachers needed, we shall describe briefly how an 
Education Budget is prepared, and how money is appro- 
priated for school purposes. 

HOW AN EDUCATION BUDGET IS PREPARED 

The necessity of preparing an Education Budget in the 
City of New York arises from the fact that the Board of 
Education is not a tax-raising body, but must depend for 
money with which to maintain the school system upon 
the approval of its budget estimates by the municipal au- 
thorities. The Education Department is considered by the 
city government as a department of the city; hence it is 
required to prepare its budget estimates at the same time 
and in the same manner as other city departments. The 
complete city budget for all departments must be prepared 
in time to be considered and approved before December 31 
each year. This means that the department estimates must 
be made and the budget prepared during the summer and 
early autumn months. Owing to the fact that the fiscal 
year of the City of New York ends on December 31 each 
year, whereas the school year ends July 31, the Education 
Department must prepare its budget estimates for prac- 
tically a year and a half of school time. The estimates, 
therefore, always cover a period of eighteen months, even 
though the first six months of that time were covered by 
estimates in the previous budget. Thus, in order to pro- 
vide funds for the employment of additional high school 
teachers in the September- January term of the school year 
19 1 3- 1 4, an estimate of the number of additional teachers 
needed in that term was included in the Education Budget 
prepared by the Education Department during the summer 



The Importance of the Problem 145 

of 1912. The number of teachers needed in this same term 
of school was estimated again in the budget prepared in 

The estimate of the number of additional high school 
teachers needed is first made by the principals of the 
schools, who prepare these estimates annually by June 15 on 
blanks furnished by the City Superintendent of Schools. 
The estimates are then forwarded in duplicate to the Dis- 
trict Superintendent, who in turn forwards them to the 
Associate City Superintendent in charge of High Schools. 
Either of these officials may alter the estimates as he sees 
fit before approving them. The estimates are then for- 
warded to the City Superintendent and, after such revision 
as he may make in them, form part of the complete Educa- 
tion Budget. The budget is then submitted to the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment. The process of preparing 
estimates in the Education Budget is now completed. 

HOW MONEY IS APPROPRIATED FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES 

The Board of Estimate and Apportionment of the City 
of New York consists of the Mayor, the Comptroller, the 
President of the Board of Aldermen, and the Borough 
President of each of the five Boroughs of Manhattan, 
Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Richmond. As its name 
indicates, this Board passes judgment on the estimates of 
the necessary expenditure in each department of the city 
government. We have seen how the Board of Education, 
through its agents and officials, prepares and submits to the 
above Board its budget estimates of the funds necessary 
to employ such additional high school teachers as may be 
required during the next eighteen months. 

Inasmuch as the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
must consider all the budgets of the various city depart- 
ments within a relatively short time, it is necessary to 
assign these budgets to committees. The Committee in 
charge of the Education Budget usually receives it in Sep- 



146 Studies in High School Organization 

tember, and at once begins consideration of its many items. 
This budget is, at the same time, subjected to the scrutiny 
of the Statistical Bureau of the Finance Department. Pri- 
vate conferences are held between the agents of the city 
government and officers or representatives of the Education 
Department. Public hearings are also held by the Budget 
Committee, at which time the school officials urge on the 
Board of Estimate the necessity of appropriating the full 
amount of the budget as prepared. At these hearings the 
members of the Budget Committee question the represen- 
tatives of the Education Department in order to ascertain 
the validity of the basis on which the various estimates are 
made. During these public hearings representatives of 
various organizations also appear to speak for or against 
particular items in the budget. Such representatives have 
frequently an interest in opposing the granting of further 
educational supplies. 

After the hearings are over, and a conclusion has been 
reached, the Budget Committee reports to the Board of 
Estimate, and the Board by formal action fixes finally the 
amount of the Education Budget. The Board of Estimate 
then submits the Education Budget (together with the 
budgets of the other city departments) to the Board of 
Aldermen, who may reduce the amount of the budget as 
already fixed. The budget then goes to the Mayor, who in 
turn may veto any reduction made by the Board of Alder- 
men. The Mayor's signature completes the process of fix- 
ing the amount of the appropriation for the Education De- 
partment.^ 

THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE ESTIMATES 

Estimating the number of high school teachers needed 
is of fundamental importance, educationally and economi- 
cally. If there are not enough teachers to carry on the 

* For a more detailed discussion of this method of procedure and its 
results, see Moore, How New York City Administers Its Schools, 
in the School Efficiency Series. 



The Importance of the Problem 147 

work of a school according to sound educational principles, 
ineffective instruction results. Lack of a sufficient number 
of teachers means over-size classes, or overworked teach- 
ers, or both — all of which is at the expense of the pupil's 
education. On the other hand, too many teachers, or inef- 
fective use of teachers, results in a loss to the city, because 
the educational returns are not commensurate with the 
financial expenditures. 

In the preparation of a budget blank for estimating the 
number of high school teachers needed we proceeded on 
the assumption that, if the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment is to discharge wisely its function of granting, or 
refusing to grant, funds for the employment of additional 
teachers, that board must have the facts upon which to 
base a judgment on the need of such expenditures as the 
principals' estimates require. Hence, a satisfactory budget 
blank must contain the essential information as to the facts 
upon which the principal bases his estimates as a basis upon 
which the Board of Estimate and Apportionment may judge 
the validity of those estimates. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE SCOPE AND METHODS OF THE 
INVESTIGATION 

THE BLANK IN USE ANALYZED AND FOUND INADEQUATE 

AFTER Stating in general terms the importance of ac- 
curate budget estimates, and indicating the information 
necessary for making them, the report takes up an "Analy- 
sis and Criticism of the Board of Education's Blank" used 
in 1911, entitled, "Report on the Need of Teachers in the 
High School for 1911." As a result of this "analysis and 
criticism," we came to certain conclusions, which were 
stated in the form of the following summary in the report. 
The blank used in 1911 is defective in the following 
respects : 

1. The data do not cover a sufficient period of time — 
only three years, 

2. The blank contains non-essential and misleading 
data; e. g., the average number of pupils per teacher, 
based on the gross register and the teaching force, 
including persons who do not teach. 

3. It contains non-comparable and unrelated data; 
e. g., the dates in the various tables do not corre- 
spond. 

4. It does not contain any data whatever concerning 
the organization of the school to show whether the 
recitation sections are of standard size, or whether 
teachers already employed are teaching the stand- 
ard number of periods per week. 

148 



Scope and Methods of the Investigation 149 

A NEW BLANK PREPARED 

Assuming that the present method of procedure in obtain- 
ing money for additional high school teachers is to be con- 
tinued, and assuming also that efficiency in this method of 
procedure requires that the facts on which the principals 
base their estimates be presented to the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment, we prepared a blank which should 
meet the requirements of the situation. The preparation of 
this blank was based on the following principles : 

1. Since there is a difference between administrative 
data and data for budget purposes, administrative 
data should be included in a blank to be used for 
budget purposes only so far as such administrative 
data form the basis of budget estimates. 

2. Data showing past experiences often cover practices 
which ought not to be perpetuated (e. g., large sec- 
tions and too many periods of teaching per teacher), 
and, therefore, past experiences should not form the 
only basis for budget requests. 

3. Past experiences, as the basis of budget estimate, 
should always be supplemented by data showing the 
present organization of the school (e. g., size of sec- 
tion, amount of work teachers are doing), in order 
that justifiable improvements may be incorporated 
into the future organization of the school. 

4. The data showing past experience should be com- 
piled for a sufficient length of time (we suggest five 
years) to show a general trend in the school, in order 
that a temporary or exceptional condition may not 
have too much weight. 

5. All relevant data now used by principals in estimat- 
ing the need of high school teachers should be cov- 
ered by such a blank in order that those who are re- 
sponsible for approving budget estimates may have at 
their disposal the same information for passing on 
the estimated needs as those who prepare the esti- 
mates. 



150 Studies in High School Organisation 

We invited the principals of the twenty high schools to 
a conference in the rooms of the Committee on School 
Inquiry, to consider the problems connected with making 
satisfactory estimates of the number of high school teachers 
needed from year to year, and also to discuss the general 
form of blank needed on which to make satisfactory esti- 
mates. As a result of this conference, and at our request, 
the High School Principals' Association instructed its presi- 
dent to appoint a Committee to cooperate with us in work- 
ing out the further details of the blank. The president 
appointed such a Committee, and many conferences were 
subsequently held with the Committee and with its members 
individually. At the final conference with the Committee 
the blank as it had been prepared was approved. 

The new blank gives the net register, the number of 
pupils and teachers for each subject or department by school 
terms during a period of five years, with the per cent, of 
increase in net register and number of teachers during that 
period. In addition, the blank contains an analysis of the 
organization of the high school in the year of the estimate. 
The data showing past experience and the detailed analysis 
of the present organization of the high school together con- 
stitute a satisfactory basis for revealing clearly how many 
teachers are needed. By incorporating in the blank these 
essential data, on which the principal bases his estimate, the 
Board of Superintendents and the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment are furnished with the information they 
must have to judge the validity of a principal's estimate. 



CHAPTER XIX 

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS ON THE USE OF THE 
NEW BLANK 

FACTORS CONDITIONING THE EFFECTIVE USE OF THE NEW 

BLANK 

OUR conferences with the high school principals on the 
new blank have revealed no little fear on their part 
that the data might be misinterpreted by those who have 
to approve of budget estimates. Nevertheless, the princi- 
pals have expressed themselves as satisfied with the blank. 
It is obviously important that there should be a clear under- 
standing of the purpose of the blank and the method of 
using it. 

The Board of Superintendents, the Board of Education, 
and the Board of Estimate and Apportionment should have 
at their disposal the essential information which the prin- 
cipals use in estimating their need of additional teachers. 
The high school principals have heretofore estimated with 
care the teachers needed, but the blank used has not incor- 
porated all the essential facts. The purpose of the new 
blank is to show the basis of recorded facts on which the 
principal's estimated need for additional teachers rests ; this 
basis being clearly shown, the responsibility of the princi- 
pal is discharged. The Board of Superintendents and the 
Board of Education then become responsible for approv- 
ing or disapproving the principal's estimates, and the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment, in turn, becomes respon- 
sible for granting or withholding the funds required by 
the estimates. 

This blank must be interpreted by the educational au- 



152 Studies in High School Organisation 

thorities, and by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, 
in the light of high school conditions and needs. For in- 
stance : this blank will show that there are small classes in 
Greek in some schools, and also relatively small classes in 
the fourth year of other elective subjects. This is inevi- 
table; first, because the number of pupils taking Greek as a 
college preparatory subject is always small; and, second, 
because the principal of a high school cannot control arbi- 
trarily the number of pupils in elective subjects. If a boy 
or girl enters a high school having a course of study in 
which Greek is found, to take a preparatory course for a 
college which requires or prefers Greek as an entrance sub- 
ject, the high school ought, in general, to afford the pupil 
instruction in Greek. If it does not, it fails to discharge 
its full duty, which is to afford all pupils equal opportunities 
to obtain the kind of instruction they need. 

Again, the pupils taking an elective subject may number 
several hundred in the first term, but the number dimin- 
ishes so rapidly that, by the fourth year, it is relatively 
small, often, indeed, numbering not more than fifteen or 
twenty pupils — one section. For example : for those pupils 
who elect in their first year to take the four years of Ger- 
man offered in the course of study, the school ought to 
provide that instruction throughout the four years, even 
though the number of pupils studying fourth year German 
is relatively small. It is, of course, legitimate for a school 
to fix a minimum number of pupils per section, and an- 
nounce that a section will not be organized for a smaller 
number of pupils; but that minimum should not be fixed 
too high, and need not be the same for all subjects or all 
schools. Small classes in some subjects — e. g., Greek — 
and later years of other elective subjects — e. g., mathe- 
matics, German, French — are inevitable and representative 
of normal conditions, and are defensible; hence, such con- 
ditions should not subject the principal to the contention 
that the organization of his school is unsatisfactory, nor to 
the charge of having overestimated his need of teachers. 



Conclusions on the New Blank 153 

The data contained in this blank should not be inter- 
preted according to the standards of the elementary school. 
In the elementary school the organization is such that a 
teacher is provided for every forty or forty-five pupils in 
a given grade. The organization of the high school pre- 
cludes the possibility of any such simple computation to 
determine the need of additional teachers. Consequently, 
the authorities who pass judgment on the estimates of the 
high school principals must know the conditions in the high 
schools in order to be able to approve or disapprove, intel- 
ligently, the principals' requests for additional teachers. 
Unless this approval is arrived at with the same care that is 
used by the principals in the preparation of their estimates, 
the effort to place the estimated need of high school teachers 
on a basis of recorded facts will be futile. 

The fear has been expressed by high school principals 
that, even if this blank is satisfactory, it is likely that it 
will not be used for a sufficient time to prove its value. Ex- 
perience has caused them to feel that changes among offi- 
cials are likely to result in change of blanks. We suggest 
that the new blank be used for a reasonable time ; and that 
the principals be invited annually by the Board of Education 
and by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to make 
such suggestions of changes for improving it as experience 
may show are desirable. 

The blank is the result of careful deliberation by us and 
by the high school principals, in view of the needs of the 
high schools, and of the information required by the school 
authorities and the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 
A thoroughly satisfactory blank can be Attained only when 
the- authorities adopt some method by which the proper 
practice in using the blank may be utilized as a basis for 
improving it. Inasmuch as the purpose of the school 
authorities and the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
is, or should be, to secure the recorded facts on which the 
principals base their estimates, that blank is satisfactory 
which is comprehensive enough to furnish such information 



154 Studies in High School Organisation 

in the clearest form. On the other hand, as has already- 
been said, the particular form of the blank ought to be 
revised from time to time, in accordance with suggestions 
made by the principals, inasmuch as they are the ones 
best qualified to suggest modifications in it — assuming, of 
course, that it shall always present clearly the facts which 
the Board of Education and the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment need for their purposes. 

We suggest that a representative of the high school prin- 
cipals be invited to be present at all conferences of the 
school authorities and the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment, in which the high school estimates are under con- 
sideration. 

SUMMARY 

To sum up : 

1. The principals, the Board of Education, and the Board 

of Estimate and Apportionment should have a clear 
understanding of the purpose and method of using 
this blank. 

2. The purpose of this blank is to provide a means of 
putting the estimated need of teachers by the high 
school principals on a basis of recorded facts. 

3. After the principal has furnished the necessary data 
on which he makes his estimate, the responsibility 
for approving these estimates rests on the Board of 
Superintendents, and the responsibility for granting 
the recjuired funds rests on the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment, 

4. The data and estimates must be interpreted in the light 
of high school conditions and needs, and not accord- 
ing to elementary school conditions and needs. 

5. The school authorities and the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment should exercise the same care in pass- 
ing on the data and the estimates that has been de- 
voted to the preparation of the data and estimates 
by the principals. 



Conclusions on the New Blank 155 

6. The blank should be used for a reasonable period of 
time; and it should be revised by the principals as 
experience suggests the need of revision — always, 
however, with a view to providing more adequately 
the information needed by the school authorities and 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

If these considerations are clearly understood and 
agreed upon by the principals who prepare the data on the 
blank, by the Board of Superintendents and the Board of 
Education, who are called upon to approve of the princi- 
pals' estimates, and by the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment, who finally approve the request for funds, the 
fears which have been expressed by the principals con- 
cerning the use of this blank, and the data which it con- 
tains, will be groundless. 



Summary of Findings and Recommendations 
by Topics 



CHAPTER XX 

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDA- 
TIONS BY TOPICS 



F 



OR convenience, the summary of our findings and rec- 
ommendations is here presented by topics. 



I. The Size of Sections (Classes) 

Our findings concerning the size of sections^ may be 
summarized as follows : 

1. Large sections are due to 

a. The present official standard size — which is too 
large. 

b. The lack of the necessary teachers. 

c. In a few cases, a bad distribution of pupils by the 
principal. 

2. Small sections are due to 

a. The inevitably small number of pupils in the 
upper terms of work. 

b. In a few cases, a bad distribution of pupils by the 
principal. 

Hence, we recommend: 

I. The adoption of a standard size of section of thirty 
pupils for all terms as a provisional standard to be 
tested in practice. 
^For other factors which may affect the size of section, see p. 15. 

159 



i6o Studies in High School Organisation 

, 2. The employment of enough teachers to make it pos- 
sible for principals to keep the size of sections rea- 
sonably within the limits of the standard — ^twenty- 
eight to thirty-five pupils. 

3. A careful study by the principals of the subject of 
program-making, to the end that unnecessary over- 
size sections may be reduced and unnecessary under- 
size sections may be avoided. 



II. The Work of Chairmen of Departments 
We find that : 

1. Over 75 per cent, of the chairmen in the larger high 
schools are teaching more periods per week than the maxi- 
mum standard fixed by Associate City Superintendent 
Stevens. 

2. Over 86 per cent, of the chairmen in the smaller high 
schools are teaching more periods per week than the stand- 
ard fixed by Associate City Superintendent Stevens for 
schools of this size. 

3. Teaching assignments to chairmen of departments in 
the larger high schools take so much of their time that each 
is left only 58.26 per cent, of the time the standard fixed by 
Associate City Superintendent Stevens contemplates. 

4. Teaching assignments to chairmen of departments in 
the smaller high schools take so much of their time that 
each is left only 38.82 per cent, of the time the standard 
fixed by Associate City Superintendent Stevens contem- 
plates. 

5. Teaching and study hall supervision done by chair- 
men in the larger high schools consume so much time that 
chairmen have only 40.5 per cent, of the time for super- 
vision and administrative work that the standard fixed by 
Associate City Superintendent Stevens contemplates. 



Summary of Findings i6i 

6. Teaching and study hall supervision done by chair- 
men in the smaller high schools consume so much time that 
chairmen have only 19.76 per cent, of the time for super- 
vision and administrative work that the standard fixed by 
Associate City Superintendent Stevens contemplates. 

In view of the foregoing, the following recommenda- 
tions are made : 

1. The chairman of a department should, as in the case 
of other teachers, be allowed one free period each day. 

2. The chairman of a department should be allowed two 
periods each month for the classroom visits and supervision 
of each teacher in his department. 

3. If the chairman of a department is assigned admin- 
istrative duties (as first assistant), his number of teaching 
periods should be correspondingly reduced, in order that 
he may still have the required amount of time for the 
satisfactory supervision of his department. 

4. The chairman of a department should be relieved, 
as far as possible, from all purely clerical work, which work 
should be performed by additional clerks. 

5. First assistants should be relieved, as far as possible, 
from supervising study halls, and, except occasionally, also 
from an official class, in order that their time may be de- 
voted to a higher grade of professional work. 

III. The Work of Other Teachers 
We summarize the discussion as follows : 

I. Of the 671 teachers under consideration, 15.50 per 
cent, are teaching less than twenty periods; 82.11 per cent, 
are teaching from twenty to twenty-five periods ; and 2.39 
per cent, are teaching more than twenty-five periods. 



i62 Studies in High School Organisation 

2. Of the 226 teachers of English, 25.66 per cent, are 
teaching less than twenty periods per week; 32.3 per cent, 
are teaching more than twenty-one periods; and only 42 
per cent, are teaching twenty or twenty-one periods — the 
standard fixed by the Department of Education. 

3. Of the teachers of German, mathematics, biology, 
and history, 10.3 per cent, are teaching less than twenty 
periods; 2.7 per cent, are teaching more than twenty-five 
periods, and 86.96 per cent, are teaching from twenty to 
twenty-five periods — the standard fixed by the Depart- 
ment of Education. 

If study hall supervision is added to teaching, the follow- 
ing results are obtained : 

1. Of the 671 teachers, 2.4 per cent, are doing less than 
twenty periods of work; 41.4 per cent, are doing more than 
twenty-five periods of work; and 56.2 per cent, are doing 
from twenty to twenty-five periods of work, 

2. Over 50 per cent, of all the teachers have adminis- 
trative duties to perform in addition to teaching and study 
hall supervision. 

3. Of the teachers of English, none are doing less than 
twenty periods of teaching and study hall supervision; 3.09 
per cent, are doing twenty or twenty-one periods of work; 
96.90 per cent, are doing over twenty-one periods of work; 
26.5 per cent, are doing over twenty-five periods; and 33.6 
per cent, are doing twenty-five periods. 

4. Of the teachers in other departments under consid- 
eration, 3.6 per cent, are doing less than twenty periods of 
work; 48.98 per cent, are doing more than twenty-five 
periods of work; and 47.41 per cent, are doing from twenty 
to twenty-five periods. 

Our analysis of the work done by teachers has led us to 
the following conclusions and recommendations : 



Summary of findings 163 

1. Over 15 per cent, of the teachers under consideration 
are teaching less than the minimum standard — twenty peri- 
ods — because they are doing work other than teaching. 
Are not some of these teachers doing too Httle teaching? 
We recommend that the Committee on High Schools of the 
Board of Superintendents ^ investigate the question and 
report to the Board of Superintendents. 

2. If to teaching we add study hall supervision, we find 
that only a trifle over 2 per cent, of the teachers are doing 
less than twenty periods; and that over 41 per cent, are 
doing more than twenty-five periods of work (i. e., they 
do not have a free period each day). Are not some of 
these teachers doing too much work? We recommend, as 
before, that the Committee on High Schools of the Board 
of Superintendents investigate the question and report to 
the Board of Superintendents. 

3. In addition to teaching and study hall supervision, 
over 50 per cent, of the teachers have other assigned duties. 

4. We find, on examination, that some of these other 
assigned duties are purely clerical, and that a large part of 
them are administrative. 

5. We recommend that the principals and the Board of 
Superintendents differentiate very definitely between what 
is clerical and what is administrative work. 

6. We recommend (a) that the principal of each high 
school be furnished a sufficient number of competent clerks 
to perform the clerical work, and (b) also that the prin- 
cipal of each high school be definitely allowed a certain 
portion of the time of his teaching staff for the discharge 
of such administrative functions as he finds it necessary to 
assign to them. 

^ In view of the fact that Professor Elliott recommends that the 
Board of Superintendents be abolished, and that a Bureau of Investi- 
gation and Appraisal be constituted in its stead, the matters in this 
report referred to the former Board vi^ould naturally be taken up by 
the latter. 



164 Studies in High School Organisation 

IV. Administrative Control of the High School as 
It Affects Internal Organization 

Summary of our findings and recommendations by topics : 
( I ) The Principal and the Daily Program 

We find : 

1. That the principals are responsible for the organiza- 

tion of recitation sections in their respective schools. 

2. That some of the principals have organized large and 

small sections in the same term of work, each of 
which could have been avoided by a different distri- 
bution of pupils. 

3. That the effective organization of the schools, as to 

number and size of sections, by the principals is di- 
rectly affected by factors controlled by the Depart- 
ment of Education. 

4. That these factors are the program (course) of 

studies, the size of school, the size and number of 
classrooms, and the number of teachers employed. 

We recommend : 

That a thoroughgoing investigation be undertaken of 
program-making by the principals. This investiga- 
tion should be made by a committee of high school 
principals and a committee of the Board of Super- 
intendents working together. 

(2) The Department of Education and the Program of 

Studies 

We raise these questions : 

I. Has the Board of Superintendents considered the 
extent to which the larger number of curricula 
("general," "commercial," "manual training," 



Summary of Findings 165 

" ") in a school increases the 

number of small sections, and, hence, increases the 
amount of teaching to be done to care for a given 
number of pupils? 

2. Has the Board of Superintendents considered to 
what extent, if any, the number of electives in a 
curriculum increases the cost of instruction, and 
whether the increased cost, if any, produces com- 
mensurate educational returns? 

3. Has the Board of Superintendents followed any 
well-conceived plan in determining the time allot- 
ments for high school subjects? Has it considered 
the daily program of the school in determining time 
allotments ? 

We recommend : 

1. That each question raised above be the subject of 

an investigation by the Board of Superintendents 
in order to determine — 

a. Whether, educationally and economically, there 

should be a single curriculum or several curric- 
ula in one high school. 

b. Whether the number of electives increases the 
cost of instruction, and, if so, whether the edu- 
cational results are commensurate with the in- 
creased cost. 

c. A plan for assigning time allotments to sub- 

jects which shall take into consideration not 
only the educational value of each subject, but 
also whether it admits of making a satisfactory 
daily program. 

2. That the courses of study and curricula be sub- 
jected to continual but gradual revision and modi- 
fication by committees of high school principals 
and teachers, and corresponding committees of the 
Board of Superintendents working together. 



1 66 Studies in High School Organization 

(3) The Department of Education and the Size of the 
High Schools 
We find : 

1. That the high schools in New York City, in most 

cases, are so large that (a) it is doubtful whether 
the principal can discharge satisfactorily his re- 
sponsibility to pupils, parents, and teachers; (b) 
that their very size interferes with their effective 
administration; (c) that an assembly of all stu- 
dents at one time is impossible; and (d) that gen- 
eral facilities, such as lunch rooms, lockers, etc., 
cannot be adequately provided. 

2. That the system of annexes is unsatisfactory, be- 

cause, among other reasons, 

a. The opinion prevails that the teachers are in- 
ferior to those in the main building. 

b. The teachers change often. 

c. The teachers do relatively more teaching than 

in the main building, and often teach subjects 
other than those which they are licensed to 
teach. 

d. The sections are too large, being considerably 
larger than sections in the main building. 

e. The students drop out faster than in the main 

building. 

f . The educational offering is not equivalent to the 

offering in the main building. 

g. School spirit is lacking ; teachers and pupils both 
prefer the main school. 

h. The organization of the school as a whole can- 
not be so effective with annexes as it could be 
if all pupils were in one building. 

We recommend : 

I. That high schools hereafter established be limited 
to 1,500 pupils. 



Summary of Findings 167 

2. That a definite policy be adopted of establishing 

high schools in various parts of the city to take 
the place of annexes, and that additional high 
schools be established in accordance with that 
policy. 

3. That a plan be adopted of establishing the different 

types (specialized and cosmopolitan, particularly 
the former) of high schools throughout the city, 
and that a careful study of their comparative effec- 
tiveness be made from year to year. 

(4) The Department of Education and the Size and 
Number of Classrooms 

We find : 

1. That some small sections are the result of the prin- 

cipals being forced to use small rooms in the main 
building. 

2. That some large sections are the result of the prin- 

cipals being forced to use large rooms, particularly 
in annexes; some are also the result of filling class- 
rooms in the main building to overflowing on ac- 
count of congested conditions. 

3. That small sections mean expensive instruction, be- 

cause the teaching reaches a comparatively small 
number of students. 

4. That large sections often mean ineffective instruc- 

tion, because the number of pupils a teacher can 
satisfactorily teach is limited. 

We recommend: 

I. That the seating capacity of classrooms be limited 
to the maximum standard size of section to make 
over-size sections impossible. 



i68 Studies in High School Organisation 

2. That in the new buildings constructed, and, as far 
as practicable in the buildings now in use, special 
study halls, seating 125 to 150 pupils, be provided, 
so that less time of teachers would be required in 
study hall supervision, and regular classrooms 
could be used more largely for recitation pur- 
poses. 

3. That more classrooms be provided through the 
building of more high schools. 

(5) The Department of Education and the Number of 
Teachers Employed 

We find : 

1. That the method of increasing or decreasing the 

number of teachers in a department of study does 
not insure the appointment of teachers where they 
are needed. 

2. Nor does it insure the declaring of teachers "in ex- 
cess" where they are not needed. 

3. That, in many schools, there is not a sufficient num- 
ber of teachers to maintain the standard size of 
section and the standard week's work for a teacher 
fixed by the Board of Superintendents. 

4. That, in some schools, there are more teachers than 

would have been necessary had the size of section 
not been abnormally small. 

5. That the blank now used in the reorganization above 
noted is inadequate for its purpose. 

We recommend: 

I. That a reorganization blank be adopted which shall 
furnish the following essential facts, on which the 
need of changing the number of teachers in a de- 
partment is based : 



Summary of Findings 169 

a. Concerning the size of sections : 

(i) How many pupils are there in the department, 
and how are they distributed by terms of work 
pursued ? 

(2) What is the number and size of sections by 
terms of work, as organized at the time of the 
appHcation ? 

(3) Is the size of sections, as organized, in accord- 
ance with the standards fixed by the Board of 
Superintendents ? 

b. Concerning the amount of teaching: 

( 1 ) How many periods of teaching and other work 
are teachers already employed in the depart- 
ment doing? 

(2) How much teaching and other work is there 
for the additional teacher or teachers to do? 

(3) Is the number of periods of teaching now being 
done by teachers in the department in accord 
with the standard fixed by the Board of Super- 
intendents ? 

iV. Estimating the Number of High School 
Teachers Needed — A Resume 

(i) Concerning the Old Blank 

The blank used in 191 1 is defective in the following re- 
spects : 

1. The data do not cover a sufficient period of time — 

only three years. 

2. The blank contains non-essential and misleading 

data — e. g., the average number of pupils per 
teacher, based on the gross register and the teach- 
ing force, including persons who do not teach. 



170 Studies in High School Organization 

3. It contains non-comparable and unrelated data — 

e. g., the dates in the various tables do not cor- 
respond. 

4. It does not contain any data whatever concerning 

the organization of the school to show whether 
the recitation sections are of standard size, or 
whether teachers already employed are teaching 
the standard number of periods per week. 



(2) Concerning the New Blank 

The new blank gives the net register, the number of 
pupils and teachers for each subject or department by school 
terms during a period of five years, with the per cent, of 
increase in net register and number of teachers during that 
period. In addition, the blank contains an analysis of the 
organization of the high school in the year of the estimate. 
The data showing past experience and the detailed analy- 
sis of the present organization of the high school together 
constitute a satisfactory basis for revealing clearly how 
many teachers are needed. By incorporating in the blank 
these essential data, on which the principal bases his esti- 
mate, the Board of Superintendents and the Board of Esti- 
mate and Apportionment are furnished with the informa- 
tion they must have to judge the validity of a principal's 
estimate. 

The blank prepared by us was presented to the high 
school principals at a conference held at the rooms of the 
Committee on School inquiry on November 8, 1911. As a 
result of that conference, and at our request, the High 
School Principals' Association instructed its president tO' 
appoint a committee to cooperate with us in working out 
the further details of the blank. Careful consideration was 
given to the blank in its present form at our final meeting 
with the committee, and we recommend its adoption. 



Summary of Findings 171 

(3) Concerning the Use of the New Blank 

To sum up : 

1. The principals, the Board of Education, and the Board 

of Estimate and Apportionment should have a clear 
understanding of the purpose and method of using 
this blank. 

2. The purpose of this blank is to provide a means of 

putting the estimated need of teachers by the high 
school principals on a basis of recorded facts. 

3. After the principal has furnished the necessary data 

on which he makes his estimate, the responsibility 
for approving these estimates rests on the Board of 
Superintendents, and the responsibility for granting 
the required funds rests on the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment. 

4. The data and estimates must be interpreted in the 

light of high school conditions and needs, and not 
according to elementary school conditions and 
needs. 

5. The school authorities and the Board of Estimate and 

Apportionment should exercise the same care in 
passing on the data and the estimates that has been 
devoted to the preparation of the data and estimates 
by the principals. 

6. The blank should be used for a reasonable period of 
time; and it should be revised by the principals as 
experience suggests the need of revision — always, 
however, with a view to providing more adequately 
the information needed by the school authorities and 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

If these considerations are clearly understood and agreed 
upon by the principals who prepare the data on the blank, 
by the Board of Superintendents and the Board of Edu- 



172 Studies in High School Organization 

cation, who are called upon to approve of the principals' 
estimates, and by the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment, who finally approve the request for funds, the fears 
which have been expressed by the principals concerning the 
use of this blank and the data which it contains will be 
groundless. 



Index 



INDEX 



Ability of teacher, judgment of the, 6i. 

Absence of teacher, 58. 

Administration, plan of, i. 

Administrative control, 91; difficul- 
ties, 109; duties, 81-84; functions, 
90; internal organization, 164; rec- 
ommendations, 90, 164. 

Annex, 57, 113-115; commercial work 
in, 121; languages in, 120; number 
of pupils in, no; recommendations, 
125; school spirit in, 120; size of 
classrooms, 129-30; temporary na- 
ture of, 1 2 1-5. 

Apparatus, requisition for, 58. 

Appointment of teachers, 132. 

Appropriations, how made, 145. 

Assistant, First, his duties, 3; to 
principal, 54; teachers, students, 
their numbers compared, 40. 

Athletics, charge of, 80. 

Attention, 32. 

Biology, number of pupils in, 56; 

periods per teacher, 69; periods 

taught per week, 42-4. 
Blank, the new, 149-55; used in 191 1, 

148-51. 
Books, charge of, 80. 
Boys' High School, size of sections in, 

21-25. 
Budget, preparation of, 143-145. 
Bulletin Boards, charge of, 80. 

Chairmen of Departments, as ad- 
ministrative officers, 35, 50, 54, 57; 
as assistants, 54; as teachers, 42-49; 
by-laws on duties, 37, 38; duties, 
37i 38. 51; lack of adequate super- 
vision by, 59; periods of study, 51; 
periods of teaching, 46-49, 62-64; 
responsibilities, 55; scope of work, 
57; snap Judgments, 59; their relief, 
64; time for other duties, 44-46; 



work of, 160; findings and recom- 
mendations, 160. 

Changes among pupils, 118. 

Charter, the, 2. 

Chemistry, periods per week, 43. 

Class teaching, supervision of, 57. 

Class work, outlining of, 57. 

Classroom, instruction, supervision of, 
58; findings and recommendations, 
167-8; size of and number, 129-30, 
167-8. 

Classroom, visits by chairman, 64. 

Classes, size, ventilation, discipline, 
handling of, 32. 

Classification of teachers, 37. 

Clerical assistant, need of, 60-4. 

Clerical work, 59; recommendations, 
90. 

College entrance requirements, 94; 
supervision, 55. 

Commercial training, 101-6; in an- 
nexes, 121. 

Condition examinations, supervision 
of, 57- 

Control, administrative, 91. 

Correction of examination papers, 
supervision of, 57. 

Correspondence, care of, 57. 

Corridors, charge of, 80. 

Cost of instruction, loi. 

Counsel to pupils, 83. 

Courses of study, recommendations, 
102. 

Criticism, constructive by chairman, 
61. 

Curricula, 100-6; effect of large num- 
ber of, 105. 

Daily program, findings and recom- 
mendations, 164. 

Department, and teachers, 131-40; 
and teachers, recommendations, 
139-40; chairmen, 35-64; selected, 



175 



176 



Index 



typical, 67; of Education and Pro- 
gram of Studies, 100-6. 

Departmental meetings, 57. 

Discipline, 32, 82; duty of First 
Assistant, 54. 

Distribution of pupils, 4-31. 

Education Budget, preparation of, 

143-5- 
Effectiveness of organization, 4. 
Elective subjects and the New Blank, 

152. 
English, fluctuation in pupils, 118; 

number of pupils in, 56; periods 

per teacher, 69; periods taught per 

week, 42-4; teachers, considered 

separately, 70-3, 77-8. 
Equal Pay, Bill of, 191 1, 37. 
Esprit de corps, maintenance of, 57. 
Estimates for budget, 143-6. 
Examination papers, the setting of , 57. 
Extra functions assigned to teachers, 

80-6. 

Findings, by topics, 157. 

Fire drill, supervision of, 55. 

First Assistants, by-laws thereon, 

37-9; definition of duties, 37-9; 

duties, 54-5. 
First Assistants, their relief, 64. 
First-term sections, 9, 12. 
Fraternities, charge of, 80. 
Free period for chairmen, 64; for 

teachers, 38. 
French, periods taught per week, 

42-4. 
General conclusions on New Blank, 

151- 

German, 8; and mathematics, typical, 
S; mathematics, biology, history, 
teachers of, i, separately, 73-9; 
number of pupils taking, 135; periods 
per week, 42-4; sections in Morris 
H. S., Richmond Hill H. S., and 
Boys' H. S., 15-30. 

Glee club, charge of, 80. 

Grade advisers, 80. 

Grading, uniformtiy in, 59. 

Greek and New Blank, 152. 

Head teacher, 54. 



High Schools, best type of, 94; recom- 
mendations, 103, 125-6; size of, 
107-26; specialized, 124. 

History, periods per teacher, 69; 
periods per week, 42-4. 

Infirmary, charge of, 80. 

Inventory, of books, supplies, etc., 58. 

Latin, number of pupils in, 56. 
Library, charge of, 80. 
Lunch room, charge of, 80. 

Male First Assistants' Association, 54. 

Main Buildings, number of pupils in, 
no. 

Manual training, 101-6. 

Marks, recording of, 57. 

Mathematics and German, typical, 5; 
number of pupils in, 56; periods per 
teacher, 69; periods per week, 42-4. 

Maxwell's Report for 1909, 122. 

Meetings, departmental, 57. 

Merit system, in charter, 2. 

Morris H. S., size of sections in, 16-21. 

New Blank, 151. 

North Central Association of Colleges 
and Secondary schools, 32. 

Orchestra, charge of, 80. 
Organization, change in. Blank, 151; 

effective, 4; internal, 91; of sections, 

summary, 28. 

Parents, conference with, 108-9; 
principal's responsibility to, in. 

Periods for other assigned duties, 44-6; 
taught most frequently, 69; teach- 
ing, 38; teaching by chairmen, 62-4. 

Physics, periods taught per week, 
42-4. 

Prefects of Classes, 80. 

Preparation of Work, free period for, 
38. 

Prescribed work, 94. 

Principal, 95-9; a trustee, 108; advice 
and counsel of, 120; appointment of, 
2; assignment of duties by, 87; 
executive head, 2; delegation of 
work by, 38; his time, 87. 

Program, 57; daily, 164; findings and 
recommendations, 164; of daily reci- 



Index 



177 



tations, 6, 8, 80; of studies, 94-9; 
of studies and Department of Edu- 
cation, 100-6. 

Publications, charge of, 80. 

Pupils, changes among, 118; distri- 
bution of, 4-31; number in annexes, 
no; number in main buildings, no; 
per teacher, 133-7. 

Recommendations by topics, 157. 
Records, care of, 57, 82. 
Recording marks, 57. 
Regents' credentials, preparation of, 

80; examinations, conduct of, 57. 
Report on Need of Teachers in the 

H. S., for 1911, 148. 
Rifle team, charge of, 80. 

School activities, supervision, 55 
buildings, number of pupils in, no 
notices, 82; program, charge of, 80 
publications, charge of, 80; size of, 
15; spirit, 109, 120. 

Scope and methods of the investiga- 
tion, 148; of the volume, viii. 

Seating capacity of classrooms, 128, 
130. 

Section, average size of, 30; avoidable 
and unavoidable, 12, 15; bad dis- 
tribution of pupils, 30; effect of size 
on pupils and teachers, 31; first 
term, 12; for city as whole not ap- 
proximate to standard, 8; large, 
when defensible, 30; large, when 
imnecessary, 30; minimum size, 9; 
proper size, 31; range of size, 30; 
reduction of number, 30. 

Section, responsibility for size of, 15; 
second to eighth terms, 13; size of, 
4-7, 9, 14, 16-33, 95; size of, tables, 
facing 117; size of, control by prin- 
cipal standard proposed, 31; sum- 
mary' of findings, 34. 

Size and administration, 113; and 
number of classrooms, 15, 94, 127- 
30; of High Schools, 107-26; of 
High Schools, findings and recom- 
mendations, 125, 166-7; of sections, 
classes, findings and recommenda- 
tions, 159; statistics of, no. 

Smaller High Schools, 43. 

Sororities, charge of, 80. 



Specialized High Schools, 104, 124. 

Standards and sizes of sections, 5, 9; 
teaching assignments for chairmen 
of departments, summary, 52-3. 

Stevens, Associate City Superintend- 
ent, 8, 9, 42, 43. 

Students, consulting with, ,<;7. 

Studies, program of, 15. 

Study Class, Hall, 46-9; special provi- 
sion of, 128; supervision of, 67; 
supervision of in armexes, and main 
buildings, 115-7. 

Substitutes, 59. 

Summary of findings and recom- 
mendations, 157. 

Superintendents, clerical work, 59. 

Supervision, lack of, 58. 

Supplies, 82; charge of, 80; requisition 
for, 58. 

Table I. Size of sections in German, 
and number of sections of each size, 
facing page 5. 

Table II. Size of sections in Mathe- 
matics and number of sections of 
each size, facing page 5. 

Table III. Number of sections in 
each school divided between same 
numbers, 7. 

Table IV. Per cent of sections con- 
taining less than thirty pupils, from 
thirty to forty and over forty, 10. 

Table V. Per cent of sections con- 
taining less than thirty pupils, from 
thirty to thirty-five, and over thirty- 
five, 13. 

Table VI. Size of sections in German 
in Morris High School by terms, and 
number of sections of each size, in 
February- June term, 191 1, 17. 

Table VII. Size of sections in Ger- 
man in Boys' High School by terms, 
and number of sections of each size, 
in February- June term, 1911, 22. 

Table VIII. Size of sections in Ger- 
man in Richmond Hill High School 
by terms, and nimiber of sections 
of each size, in February- June term, 
1911, 26. 

Table IX. The per cent of the sec- 
tions in German in all terms which 



178 



Index 



contain less than twenty-eight pu- 
pils, from twenty-eight to thirty- 
five, and over thirty-five, 33. 

Table X. High Schools, with stu- 
dents, teachers and assistants in 
each, 40. 

Table XI. Periods per week taught 
by Chairmen in schools of over 
1,000, 43. 

Table XII. Periods per week taught 
by Chairmen in schools of less than 
1,000, 44. 

Table XIII. Average number of 
periods of teaching by Chairmen, 
plus Study-Hall supervision in 
schools of more than 1,000, 47. 

Table XIV. Average number of 
periods of teaching by Chairmen, 
plus Study-Hall supervision in 
schools of less than 1,000, 50. 

Table XV. Number of pupils and 
teachers, exclusive of chairmen, in 
English, Biology, Latin, Mathemat- 
ics in the twenty high schools of 
New York City, 56. 

Table XVI. Number of periods of 
teaching by chairmen of Depart- 
ment of English in each high school; 
teachers in . department exclusive 
of chairmen; periods under proposed 
plan, 63. 

Table XVII. Number of periods 
taught by teachers, exclusive of 
chairmen, of English, German, 
Mathematics, Biology, and History 
in all the high schools, 68. 

Table XVIII. Number of periods 
taught by 226 teachers in depart- 
ments of English in all the high 
schools, 72. 

Table XIX. Number of periods 
taught by 445 teachers in German, 
Mathematics, Biology, and History, 
in all the high schools, 72. 

Table XX. Average number of 
periods of teaching and study-hall 
supervision by, 671; teachers in 
departments of German, English, 
Mathematics, Biology, History, in 
high schools, 74. 

Table XXI. Average number of 
periods of teaching and study-hall 



supervision by teachers of English, 
77- 

Table XXII. Average number of 
periods of teaching and study-hall 
supervision by teachers of German, 
Mathematics, Biology, History, in 
all high schools, 78. 

Table XXIII. Number of teachers 
and pupils, pupils in each school, 
main buildings, and annexes, no. 

Table XXIV. Relative amount of 
teaching and study-hall supervi- 
sion done by teachers of English, 
German, Mathematics, biology, his- 
tory, in main buildings and annexes, 
116. 

Table XXV. Size of sections in Ger- 
man, facing page 117. 

Table XXVI. Pupils taking first 
term English, 118. 

Table XXVII. Pupils taking second 
term English, 119. 

Table XXVIII. Pupils in German, 
teachers of German, pupils per 
teacher, 135. 

Teachers, appointment of, 132; classi- 
fication of, 37; duties, etc., 38; 
findings and recommendations, 168- 
9; in charge of official class, 55, 82; 
needed, old and new blank, 169-72; 
number employed, 131-44; num- 
ber in main buildings, no; prin- 
cipal's responsibility to, 112; rating 
of, 55; resume, 141-7; work of other 
teachers, findings and recommenda- 
tions, I 6 1-3. 

Teaching and Study-Hall Supervision, 
46, 49, 67-77. 

Team coaching, charge of, 80. 

Terms, size of sections studied by, 27. 

Text-books, 58, 82. 

Time allotments, lor, 106. 

Topics, findings and recommendations 
157- 

Ventilation, 32. 

Vice-Principal, 54. 

Visiting of classes by chairman, 61-2. 

Wardrobes, care of, 83. 
Women Teachers High School Asso- 
ciation, 82. 





LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



019 762 499 1 





